Galaxy On Edge
by Jedi Jelsa777
Summary: Final part to my stories Dueling With Danger and Where Is The Hope? After suffering several crushing defeats, Maul goes into hiding with Darth Keeran. During this time he discovers something he can use to end this, once and for all. Will Luke, Ezra, Rowan and their friends be able to stop this from happening? Or will the galaxy sink into darkness?
1. Prologue

Leia followed her Master down into the Sith Temple that he had discovered on this remote planet. Her Master seemed a little uneasy, dare she say insane, or at least on the verge of being in the mental state that she had been told by him that Savage had found him in. After suffering so many defeats in a row, she wasn't surprised at all, but it did cause her to worry a bit. She was glad she had sent Maketh away, she wouldn't trust her Master in this state to not do something he deemed necessary, perhaps he would have made an example out of her friend or just hurt or killed her to cause Leia harm.

"Focus, Keeran." Maul snapped her back into the present, "We need the two of us two reach the center." "Sorry, Master." She said before she did just as he commanded, lifting up the next section in front of them. Several sections later, they made it out of the long passageway and into the center. There sat an ancient looking scroll, one she would have been afraid to touch, less it would break.

Maul, on the other hand, went straight up to it, taking it carefully into his hands. He started to read out loud "When Master and Apprentice stand in perfect harmony, together they can… Oh yes, this is what I have been hoping for! Come my Apprentice, we must seek out its location." "What's location Master?" Leia asked, as she watched Maul carefully put the document into the sack like thing he had brought. Maul smiled at her and said "Our destiny, Keeran, our destiny."

 **Okay so I am going to be taking a short break (maybe a month, but no longer) from uploading as due to some unforeseen medical problems I ended up not being able to write and so we have caught up with what I do have so far (minus a bit of Chapter 1 for this part of the story). You are probably wondering why I bothered posting the prologue then, if it's going to be some time before you get Chapter 1. Well that's because this fits more with what just happened with Where Is The Hope? Then it does with Galaxy On Edge, as far as time, for Chapter 1 will see another time leap (though basically final time leap, there might be one more, but it will be mini in comparison). Thanks for your patience!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Five Years Later**

Luke looked out over the view of Mandalore, wondering if he would find his old Master visiting his secret wife. Neither of them would probably be overly pleased to see him even if Obi-Wan was there, for they would know why he was here. Sure enough, as he later entered the quarters they kept when Obi-Wan could sneak away for a bit, which was pretty often since Maul and Leia had gone into hiding some five years ago, he was met with glares from both Satine and Obi-Wan, or rather Ben, which is what Satine called him when her people had asked who she was married to.

Luke sighed and he said "I know that you know why I am here and that you both aren't happy with me, but be glad that it wasn't one of the other Jedi we have available." That was another good things about no signs of Maul and Leia, their numbers had slowly started to grow once more, though many called the loss of so many the purge. "You know she doesn't have to come, we don't force anyone to give up their children." He continued. Obi-Wan sighed and said "I know, but how can we deny her her destiny?"

Satine had surprised everyone, including herself, when after being married to Obi-Wan for almost a year she had discovered she was pregnant, something she hadn't thought she would ever experience. A few months later she had given birth to a healthy baby girl, though because everyone had thought Satine was unmarried it led to a lot of questions. Satine and Bo-Katan's good friend Ursa had agreed to pretend that "Ben" came from her clan and many saw it as the final step in making peace with remaining Death Watch members, which was also the reason Satine gave for keeping it secret, that she didn't know how her marrying someone from Death Watch would go over.

"Who is to say the Jedi is her destiny? Just because Sundi was born with the Force doesn't mean she has to become a Jedi, Ben." Luke said, calling him by his Mandalorian identity in case anyone was listening. "And who is to say that it isn't?" asked Satine, her expression belonging to one who had lost sleep while agonizing over a decision. Luke raised an eyebrow and asked "So have you two decided which way you are wanting to go then?"

Satine and Obi-Wan shared a look before Obi-Wan said "Luke, what I am going to ask of you, well let's just say I don't think the Council would approve." Luke motioned for him to go ahead and he did so "We want Sundi to stay here, but I want not only you, but Anakin and Ahsoka to stop by and train her in the ways of the Force." Luke looked stunned, hardly believing his ears before asking "Are you sure that is wise Ben?" Luke knew that Obi-Wan would also be training his daughter and wanted to be sure that his Master was secure in his decision before agreeing to it.

"Probably not wise, but that is what I really want. She doesn't need to know all the ways, just enough to protect herself when it comes time to rule Mandalore." He replied. "How would we explain her having a lightsaber?" Luke asked. "She won't, she will receive the Dark Saber, as is her birthright." Satine replied. Luke could see they had put a lot of thought into this and so finally he said "Alright I'll do it, though I can't guarantee how often I can stop by." Obi-Wan and Satine smiled and the former said "Her training need not be daily, like I said, I just want her to be able to protect herself, to trust her instincts."

As Luke was nodding, Satine spoke up "Another thing Luke. Nobody knows why you were coming here, so could you please keep the fact that Sundi has the Force to yourself and, well, the Jedi that sent you? Last thing I or Sundi needs is an uproar happening about the fact that the Duchess is a Force user when it comes time for her to reign." "Of course, now can I see Sundi?" Luke asked with a smile, one which was returned by Satine before she wordlessly went to gather the child. Obi-Wan and Anakin called her Luke's cousin, since the two considered each other practically brothers, and he was fine with that.

Satine shortly returned with Sundi and handed the almost four year old to Luke. He tickled her belly, causing the young girl to giggle before she started telling him about her new pet that daddy had brought her, a beautiful fish that he had found on the last planet he had visited before Mandalore. Luke set her down so that she could drag him off to show him the fish, Satine and Obi-Wan smiling at the sight.

XXX

Luke had one more stop to make before heading back to the Temple, so after a few hours with Ben and his family, he had said goodbye and headed into space. Now he was landing on some planet, which was a lot like Coruscant as far as it was basically buildings on top of buildings, but not so much like Coruscant that the actions of a Jedi would basically go unnoticed. Or at the very least, a Force user. He spotted a familiar ship, though for the life of him he couldn't place it, so he knew it must have been a few years at least since he had seen it.

He shook that thought from his mind and reminded himself to focus. As his eyes took in the sights around him, he reached out with the Force, searching for someone using it or at least surrounded by it, possibly not even aware that what they were using was the Force. Those kind of cases were becoming more frequent, so many having been overlooked as the Jedi had struggled to survive a few years ago. A few had thought it was just some kind of luck or magic while others were bothered by it and even a little annoyed at being unusual.

Suddenly he was pulled from his musings as he sensed a presences not only on this planet, but coming closer to him. No, not him, but that familiar looking ship. Luke looked around, trying to find a face to connect with the feeling when suddenly he spied someone he hadn't seen since he was still Obi-Wan's Padawan, before his sister was taken by Maul. Kyle Katarn. So that ship must be the Raven's Claw, Luke wondered if Jan Ors was still flying that thing.

He hadn't really become good friends with Kyle, having only been on Raven's Claw once between a few planets, but he seemed honest and if he had been much younger, he would have been taken to the Temple to be trained as a Jedi. As it was, he thought he only had stronger than average instincts. Luke vaguely remembered his Master lamenting that such a promising young man hadn't been found sooner, but this was shortly before everything with Leia, Maul and Mace had happened so he couldn't recall exact details.

Now, however, it seemed someone had been giving him lessons, for his power had grown since Luke last saw him. Cautiously he called out, "Kyle, Kyle Katarn?" Kyle stopped and gave Luke a puzzled look as he asked, "Do I know you?" "Sort of, its been about 12 years though since we met and compared to that it was but a brief blip. My name's Luke Skywalker, you gave me and my Master Obi-Wan Kenobi a lift to a couple of planets, the final one being Corellia." "I vaguely recall that, though Jan could probably tell you all about that trip, she is a wizard when it comes to remembering those kinds of details." Kyle said as he shook Luke's proffered hand.

Luke decided not to beat around the bush and asked "So who has been training you?" Kyle gave him a shocked look and started to ask "What do you…" Luke interrupted him kindly by saying, "Look, I can sense the difference in you since we last met, you have become stronger in the ways of the Force. I've just been sent to make sure you aren't a threat like Maul and Le…Darth Keeran." A voice from somewhere nearby said "It's alright Kyle, Luke is one of the best." Luke turned to a voice he knew, shock filling it as he asked "Master Kota? What are you doing here?"

Rahm Kota had left the Order some time ago and when no one had heard from him, they thought he had fallen to Darth Maul. Master Kota smiled and said "Doing what I believe is right, training those who have been considered untrainable, like Kyle here, because of their age." "So Kyle isn't your only student?" Luke asked. "Oh he is, for now anyways, but it's my dream to train those who we say can't be. Look at your own father Luke, if Mace had had more of a say, I doubt he would have ever been trained due to him being older then what is preferred and he turned out relatively fine."

Luke nodded and bashfully said "I have been thinking about the way the Jedi do some things and I do agree they need to change." "Good." Master Kota praised, "After all, just because it's the way it has always been doesn't mean it has to stay that way, and if we do not think, then we do not question, and if we do not question, then how can change be possible? I'm happy to see some younger Jedi questioning things rather than blindly going along with the set ways, as I did for too long." Luke smiled before saying "I'll just tell the Council that it was just another case of someone thinking they were just luckier than most of their friends then."

Master Kota smiled and said "Thank you Luke. If ever you need me, just get in contact with Jan, she will either put me right in touch with you or pass the message along." He handed over the information needed to contact them, Luke willingly took it as he said "Thank you." He spent a few more minutes talking to the older Jedi and his pupil before heading back towards his own ship, and then on to Coruscant.

 **Sorry about the longer then expected wait on this story guys, I had some health issues as well as some other things come up and I only really started writing again last week. I think I have enough so you guys won't have to deal with another break, so yay for that!**

 **Anyways, I have been wanting to bring Kyle back since I briefly mentioned him in the first part of this story, but the timing just never worked out. Finally I found the time to bring not only him back into the story (although once again rather briefly) but the promise of Master Kota being in it as well! I really hope you guys enjoyed getting to see them, and don't worry they should be back again later :D**


	3. Chapter 2

Ezra couldn't believe his eyes. What had been a relatively peaceful moment was shattered as more and more messengers went running by. The Dark Forces were back and this time, they weren't pulling any punches. He saw Caleb go rushing by a grim look on his face, so Ezra rushed to catch up with him. "Caleb, what's going on?" "Maul has been spotted around Endor, so myself, you, Petna, Mara and Luke are being sent there to deal with him."

"Do you want me to see if Hera is able to take us?" Ezra asked, shocked as Caleb turned abruptly towards him and questioned sternly "Do you really think I want Hera anywhere near him Ezra?" Then he seemed to remember himself and took a calming breath in and said softer, "Sorry, its just… you know how he is Ezra, I don't want to have any more people there to worry about than I already do." "I understand Master." "Besides, we'll be flying out with our troops, so we don't really need the Ghost."

XXX

Ezra was watching out the nearest viewing point as the stars stopped streaking by and the planet Endor and its forested moon came into sight. Mara and Petna were already there and Luke came out of hyperspace a few minutes later. He had needed to refuel before he could head to Endor, otherwise he would have arrived before Ezra and his Master. He docked with the ship Ezra and Caleb were on and the moment he joined them, they set up a meeting with Mara and Petna, their holograms starting up instantly, as Caleb asked "What do you have for us Mara?"

"We have sent a few scouts out and they are reporting that Maul and his forces are not on Endor itself, but its moon." Mara said, before Petna cut in "We still aren't sure why he is here, there are no major planets nearby to stage an attack on nor is there a population that he could bring into his army." Ezra, Caleb and Luke shared a puzzled look before Caleb asked "Were your spies spotted?" "While they got back in one piece, who is to say Maul didn't let them. I would say more than likely he let them bring us this report."

"So it's a trap then." Luke stated, to which Mara replied "More than likely." "We need to proceed with caution then, but also with haste. If we can take Maul here, we could end this war." Caleb said. "What if we had our ships take out their transports?" asked Ezra. "No good. Maul was smart and got ample cover for the grounded ones and by the looks of it, they have a navy on the other side of the moon, probably where they landed, ready to supply air support there." Petna replied.

"We'll just have to hope for the best then." Luke said softly. Ezra didn't like all of the variables, but he had to agree with Luke. They needed to take this chance if it could mean Maul's downfall. Caleb also agreed and gave them all a look meant to give them reassurances and courage with his left eye as he said "Let's get ready for a ground assault then, with air coverage if possible." But as they all hurried off to prepare, all Ezra could think about was the scar that ran over his Master's right eye, the one he could no longer see out of, and about how almost all their fights with Maul had gone both before and since then.

XXX

They all made it safely to the moon, a couple of squadrons of men joining them on the ground. The rest were preparing the ships to provide the backup they would more likely need. They hadn't been walking long, when a familiar, sinister voice said "I'm flattered that the Jedi have sent so many to take me. Too bad you shall never leave here." None of them had set eyes on him yet, so Ezra shouted "Show yourself!" "All in good time young one." Ezra snorted, being twenty-seven he wasn't that young anymore.

Maul continued "No, for now I shall leave you to think about your fate, give you one last out as it were." And with that he was gone, leaving no signs even that he had been there once they searched around. "So what do we do?" Petna asked, "I mean I know we aren't going to retreat but how are we going to find him when we can't find a trace of him anywhere here?" "We already know where their base camp is, if he isn't there when we arrive, he shortly will be, if not to help his men then to end us." Caleb replied, "Let's keep moving."

They all marched through endless woods, until Mara stumbled across a strange sight, some kind of meat hanging from a piece of wood. "What in the Force…?" she muttered to herself, as she drew closer to take a closer look. Too late she sensed the danger, and she was ensnared in a rope net above the ground. Her cry of surprise, brought the other's running. As they reached her short, furry creatures came out of hiding, pointing sharpened sticks and other crude weapons at them. "Ezra?" Caleb questioned, hoping that Ezra could connect with whatever these guys were.

Ezra concentrated on the nearest one and said softly "They were trying to capture food for their village, but they think we are with Maul's men, who have already killed a few of them. They are afraid but want to protect what is theirs. I have tried to let them know we mean know harm, but I can't seem to get through to them this way." The little creatures started speaking in gibberish and Petna sighed and said "Of course they don't speak Basic, if they did Maul probably would have found a space for them in his army."

"AP-5, can you translate for us?" Caleb asked a nearby droid. "I can try, though I don't see what good it will do." The droid and the creatures spent a few minutes in conversation before he said "They understand that we are here to get rid of the Dark Forces and have informed me they wish to help." "They can start by letting me down." Mara said wryly. Everyone chuckled a bit, having forgotten about her predicament at the arrival of the creatures. AP told them what had been said and one hurried to release her, though not very gently as she was too heavy for him.

Still Mara smiled and said "Tell them I said thank you." AP did so and the one who released her responded and AP translated, "That one is called Wicket and from what I can gather they call themselves as a whole Ewoks, though I am not sure if it is their species or tribe name. Anyways, he says you are welcome."

Most of the Ewoks, with the help of AP's translating, led the Jedi to their village while the others led the men closer towards the enemy, helping them establish a base with more droids acting as translators. "At least we have one thing on our side." Caleb said hours later, "Maul won't be expecting us to work with the Ewoks, let alone them having any fighting capabilities." "But they don't really have any, do they Caleb?" asked Ezra.

"We'll make use of their hunting skills and their sheer determination to stay alive and do away with Maul and his men." Caleb replied. "So what you are saying is, the skills they have aren't what we are used to seeing in our men, but hopefully just as effective." Petna summarized. Caleb nodded his agreement before saying "The men have reported that our base has been established so at first light we will attack." "But the Dark Forces have always fought at night, who's to say they won't attack our base then?" asked Luke.

"The Ewoks have set traps all around the base, so no one will be sneaking up and I am hoping that even if they do know we are here, since we ourselves aren't at the camp, that Maul won't notice them there until tomorrow." Caleb replied. "So are we staying here for the night then?" asked Mara. "Yes. Get some sleep everyone, I'll take the first watch." The rest of the watch schedule was set and everyone went off to bed, hoping to get some rest before it was their turn.

Ezra had the last watch of the night and like all the others it passed in peace. This actually bothered Ezra, for Maul was not one to sit back, but rather of hasty action. What did he have planned? Before Ezra could dwell much longer on that question, the others stirred and it was time to prepare for battle. Luke and Mara had been assigned a group of Ewoks each, as well as a droid to translate, and headed out to come at Maul's group from the back, while the other Jedi went and prepared their own men for the attack.

XXX

At the set time, all the groups converged on Maul and his men. The Dark Forces actually seemed surprised by this attack so either Maul hadn't alerted them or he had underestimated the Jedi, their men and their new furry allies. Swinging his lightsaber back and forth to block shots aimed at him and his men, Ezra caught glimpses of everyone fighting. Then he was struck by what he didn't see, no glowing red of Maul's lightsabers.

As if summoned by his thoughts, from the side closest to Petna and her group came the battle cry of the Dark Forces as, led by Maul, a sneak attack was brought against the Jedi from that side. It had been a trap, meant to lure the Jedi into a position where they were surrounded and could easily be picked off. What Maul hadn't counted on was the ferocity of the Ewoks and that is what kept him from being able to completely overwhelm the Jedi.

Petna jumped in front of one of her men, blocking Maul's swinging blade with her own. Maul chuckled and said "I will give you one chance young one to leave, for it is not you I want." "I will never leave my men alone for you to cut them down as you see fit." Petna spat back at him. "Very well." Maul said, almost gleefully.

Ezra lost sight of the fight as the Dark Forces came at him and his men harder than they had moments before, proving that they were just a distraction to keep the Jedi from noticing the lack of Maul. He could hear the sound of Petna's and Maul's blades humming through the air only to clash violently against each other just to turn around and break loose from each other to repeat the process. Repeating, that is, until a scream broke the air.

Ezra lost his concentration and got shot in his right arm, but he hardly noticed it as he turned towards the direction of the cry only to be in time to see Petna collapse at Maul's feet. "No!" Luke shouted, causing Ezra to look up at Maul and see him raising his blade to deliver the final blow. The Jedi tried to reach their fallen friend and Ezra could see Petna struggling, trying to raise her own blade to ward off Maul's, but it was all in vain. At the last second, Ezra looked away as Maul impaled Petna through her heart.

The four remaining Jedi stood frozen, unable to comprehend that Petna was dead. Their men covered for them, trying to buy them time to briefly grieve their fallen comrade as the Dark Forces tried to take advantage of the Jedi's distraction. Ezra was the first one to snap out of his shock and he started trying to make his way through the Dark Forces towards Maul, who was standing over Petna's still body laughing maniacally. Then he suddenly stopped and stared into Ezra's eyes and said "Give into your anger, come and join me and be more powerful then you ever could imagine."

"You just killed my friend and you think I would join you?" Ezra questioned, hardly believing what Maul was trying to do. "In time, you will come to see that I did you a favor." Maul said, still trying to confuse Ezra and get him to question things. Ezra however was having none of it, "You cannot know the future Maul, it is always in motion." He pointed his blade at his adversary before continuing, "I will not let my anger rule me and even if I did, I will never join you."

Maul's gaze turned dangerous as he replied "You will regret that choice." Maul lunged for Ezra, caring not that he was taking out his own men to reach the Jedi. Ezra waited for the enraged Sith, letting him work to get to him, hoping his friends would reach him soon, for he doubted he could hold off Maul in this state for long. True, with his anger Maul could be more prone to mistakes, but he would also be more ferocious in his attacks.

Maul quickly reached Ezra and swung his lightsaber at the Jedi. Ezra managed to block it, but fire erupted in his arm as he finally took notice of the shot he had received upon Penta's scream. Maul seemed to notice the weakness of Ezra's block and started hitting hard and quick upon Ezra's injured arm, keeping him from being able to effectively switch hands. Just as Ezra thought for sure he would be joining Petna in the Force, Caleb and Luke reached his side, causing Maul to retreat a short distance and give Ezra's arm a break.

"Luke, get Ezra out of here." Caleb said without taking his eyes off Maul. Luke wanted to argue, Ezra could sense it, but seemed to think better of it and led Ezra off as Caleb stayed to face Maul alone. "Luke you have to help him, none of us should face Maul alone and I'm fine." Ezra protested before Luke quietly responded, "Mara is helping him and I don't think it was just you he wanted away from Maul." Ezra understood what Luke meant, his arm really wasn't an injury that required him to need assistance.

They hadn't made it much further when they heard Maul shout out, "You may have won this battle, Jedi, but I think I still made out like a winner." And with a sadistic laugh, he turn and ran into the forest, leaving his men to follow him if they were able. Many just gave up, having been pressed into serving him when their worlds were taken over, while a few put up a fight and even fewer tried to follow their leader.

Soon it was over and the Jedi left their men to take care of the captured men, while they went to report to the Council what had happened. Even as he listened to Caleb give a report about the loss of Petna, Ezra could hardly believe that his friend was gone. Memories from their first mission flittered across his mind, as well as the ones they had made since then. Mara and Luke were quiet beside him, each lost in their own way of coping through the loss of a friend. Ezra hardly noticed as the medical droid patched his arm or much of anything really until Caleb said to their group, "Let's go home."

While a few troops would remain on Endor's moon to help the Ewoks in case the Dark Forces returned, the majority made their way aboard the waiting transports. Once they were on the bigger ships, the Jedi all having gone to the same one, they made the jump to lightspeed. While they waited to arrive on Coruscant, the four Jedi excused themselves from their men and went to talk alone in one of the big, conference type rooms usually used for battle strategies.

Luke was the first to break the silence, "It doesn't make sense, why did Maul only kill Petna? With us all getting so easily distracted over her death he could have taken us with no problem." "Does anything with Maul make sense?" Mara asked bitterly. "I disagree, a lot of what Maul did makes sense." Caleb put in his thoughts. "What do you mean master?" Ezra asked.

"Think about it, this is the first real move they have made in years and while killing all of us would make a big statement, killing just Petna served him even better. He wants us to suffer for whatever reason, he wanted to deal us not only an emotional blow, but one that sends a message." "I hate to ask, but what's the message?" asked Luke. "That no matter how many Jedi are present, nothing will stop him from attaining his goal." Caleb replied. Everyone became silent at this, a silence that lasted the rest of the trip back, as they each thought about what that could mean for the future of not only this war, but the galaxy.

 **Ugh this chapter was so hard to write, its so hard to kill an OC, but I knew it needed to be done. Not because Petna is terrible or whatever (personal, biased opinion I know XD) but because its not a war if everyone makes it home I guess. Anyways hope you enjoyed this.**

 **Also, you guys have to check out ZoomShirakoVert777's video, Warriors, its amazing! If you have any awesome, fan made videos (your own or others) that you would like to share, send me a link and I might share it too :D**


	4. Chapter 3

Fifteen year old Rowan Freemaker followed his Master into battle once more, this time on a Dark Forces space station. They were joined by Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, for the reason they were on the station rather than just blowing it up was because Padmé had been taken by ones know as Inquisitors. Or at least that's what they had called themselves when they announced to the Jedi that they had the Senator.

The Council had thought it unwise for Anakin to go, but he wouldn't take no for an answer, so Ezra and Naare had been called upon to make sure that if Anakin did anything stupid, Ahsoka would have backup to help her out. "How's it going out there Lieutenant Valeria?" asked Naare quietly into a mic. "We're keeping them busy, don't you worry." "We need to make our move." Anakin insisted. "Shouldn't we wait to be sure we know what we are getting into?" Rowan asked boldly.

"That's my wife in there!" Anakin proclaimed, to which Ahsoka shushed him and stated "Rowan has a point Anakin. We could get not only ourselves killed, but Padmé as well if we go in there lightsabers blazing." Anakin sighed and said "You're right. So what do we know about these Inquisitors?" "Nothing. The first we heard of them was when they took Padmé, but they obviously work for Maul, otherwise why would they bring Padmé here?" asked Naare.

"You Jedi are so predictable, always having to save the day." Said a voice behind them. The four Jedi whirled as one, igniting their blades as they faced the owner of the voice. Even with the helmet it was obvious it was a female, though it had an almost robotic tone to it. Floating beside her, in fact, there were a couple of hovering droids of some kind. "Who are you?" asked Rowan. "I am the Seventh Sister and if you want to see the Senator alive again, you better do as I say. Now, drop your weapons."

The four Jedi looked at each other, before one by one they shut off their lightsabers and tossed them towards the Inquisitor. Anakin was the last to do so and Rowan could practically see the battle going on in his eyes, a part of him wanting to take down the Sister before the other part, the one that wanted to insure Padmé came to no harm, won out.

One by one she had them come to her, putting Force Inhibitors on them as they did so. Finally she led them into the other room, where Padmé was chained to a wall with a male Inquisitor standing beside her. "Padmé!" Anakin exclaimed. "Ani!" Padmé looked towards the sound of his voice, hoping to see a rescue but instead seeing the captured Jedi. Hoping to distract the Inquisitors from the special attachment Anakin and Padmé had so that they wouldn't use it against them, Ahsoka asked "What are you going to do with us and the Senator?"

"The Senator we'll keep around as bait, while we'll send you on to our Master so he can do with you as he wishes." The male Inquisitor said. The Seventh Sister frowned and said to him "You just can't keep your mouth shut, can you?" before turning to the Jedi and continuing, "Ignore what the Fifth Brother said, I see no reason why our Master should be the only one to have a little fun with you." Rowan gulped before Naare narrowed her eyes and stepped forward saying "You wouldn't dare to cause us harm, for you wouldn't want to anger your Master."

She knew she had hit a cord when the Seventh Sister glared at her but just ordered them to go stand with the Senator. She and the Fifth Brother left the room, sure that there was no way their prisoners would escape. Once they were alone, Anakin asked "Are you alright Padmé?" "I'm fine Ani, so what's the plan to get us out of this mess?" she asked. "I'm working on it." he replied, earning a groan from Padmé and the three other Jedi.

"How long do you think we have?" Rowan asked no one in particular. "Don't worry, I'll have you out of here in no time." Said a voice softly. Everyone turned to face the owner of the voice and found a blond hair, blue eyed girl there. She moved toward them and quickly worked to deactivate the Force Inhibitors on Rowan's wrist. "Who are you?" he asked. "My name is Becky and I was forced to join the Dark Forces when they took over my home. Please, help me to escape." As she finished speaking, the cuffs turned off and she quickly caught them to keep from making any noise, moving onto Naare.

"We'll do our best." Padmé promised her for the Jedi, knowing that they would do so. "That's all I ask." Becky replied as she finished freeing Anakin, who instantly took Padmé into his arms. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" asked a voice that was all too familiar to the Jedi. Turning towards the door, they saw Maul standing just inside the entryway, blocking their only way out. Their weapons hooked to his belt, as if they were trophies, easily obtainable, but not without risk to the Senator or Becky, who was huddling behind Naare.

"I thought the Jedi didn't allow relationships? It appears they grow more lenient with age." Maul continued, to which Anakin scoffed and said "They don't, they just allowed me temporarily back in when you took Leia." "Wanted to keep you a tight leash did they? After all that was twelve years ago, seems a bit long to be temporary." Maul taunted. Anakin gritted his teeth, which Maul noticed and chuckled saying "Fifty years old and you still have that temper. You should retire, you're getting too old for this."

"Look who's talking, old one, your older than me!" Anakin pointed out, to which Maul responded "Yes, but I have the power of the Dark Side to keep me going. It gives me great strength." His tone was almost proud as he finished speaking, which did nothing to improve Anakin's already annoyed mood. Before any of the others could react, he had pulled his lightsaber from Maul's belt and ignited. A smirk came onto Maul's face before he said "You always were the impetuous one." as he ignited his own blade.

"Get Padmé to some place safe." Anakin said to Ahsoka, before lunging at Maul. Once Maul was distracted by Anakin, the others called their lightsabers to them and proceeded to form a protective barrier around Padmé and Becky. As they exited the room where Maul and Anakin were fighting furiously, Naare quickly raised her blade, blocking a lightsaber that was thrown at the group. In their haste they had forgotten about the Inquisitors, who stepped out of the shadows as the Sister's lightsaber made its way back to them. "Going somewhere?" she asked.

"Thought you were going to take us to Maul and keep the Senator, what happened, did he not trust you to bring us to him without incident?" Naare asked and Ahsoka added, "He wasn't wrong apparently considering that we are now free." The two Inquisitors growled and the Brother said "You may be free, but you will not leave this ship alive!" "We'll see about that!" Rowan said, stepping forward. Naare put her hand out to her side, blocking him more with her words though than anything else. "Ahsoka and I will take care of this, get Padmé and Becky to the hanger."

Rowan wanted more than anything to stay and fight, but he nodded his agreement to his Master's words and hurried to obey them. The three of them cautiously made their way through the ship, though there didn't seem much point to doing so, it was oddly empty of Dark Force fighters. "Maybe those Inquisitors think they can handle things pretty much on their own?" asked Padmé which didn't sound right to Rowan and he knew he was just trying to comfort them, but Becky shook her head and said "This doesn't make any sense, I wasn't alone on this ship with them, we had a full crew plus pilots!" "Is there any security measures that would cause this to happen?' Rowan asked.

At his question, Becky went pale and said "We need to get out of this corridor, now! Warn your friends to do so as well." As they dived into the nearest room, with Becky slamming the panel harder than necessary to close the door behind them, Rowan did what she told him and though the other Jedi questioned him, they too moved to obey. Seconds later, there was a great whooshing sound outside the door and their ears popped as the pressure in the room suddenly changed.

The other Jedi showed they were okay by questioning what was happening and Becky filled everyone in. "In the event of an overwhelming amount of enemy forces on ship or if they just want to get rid of people, the Inquisitors have been known to send out a special code to those they want to keep alive to go into hiding out of the corridors. Others picked up on this and the moment we see one of them move, we all make to the nearest room as fast as possible. Once all the officers or whoever they felt like saving report that they are ready, the Inquisitors have the hanger they keep empty for this purpose open, sucking out anyone that is unfortunate enough to be stuck in the corridors out into space."

After a moment of silence, the Anakin said "Well that explains why Maul and those Inquisitors disappeared so quick." "How long until we can safely enter the corridor?" asked Rowan. Becky shrugged and said "Depending on how much of the ship was left open in the hopes of sucking us out, anywhere from ten minutes to an hour." "No good, we need to get off this ship sooner rather than later." Anakin said. "What if we use our air masks? Will we be fine then?" asked Naare. "It sounds like they have already closed the hanger so, yes we should be." Said Becky, "But I don't have one and I don't think the Senator does either." "No worries, we always carry a couple of extras." Rowan said.

Once Anakin, Ahsoka and Naare made it to their position, they all hurried as fast as possible to the hanger they had been dropped off in, calling Lt Valeria to have a transport sent in. The transport arrived at roughly the same time they did so they were able to quickly make their way off the Dark Force vessel. Once they were clear, Anakin said "Lieutenant, you are free to destroy that vessel." "Roger that." The group watched as the place they had just been stuck on was fired upon until it blew. While there was some relief to see that, and even a little sadness on Becky's part for the people she had known on there, the Jedi could sense, that neither Maul nor his Inquisitors had been on board. They wondered, just how long would it be until they showed up again.

 **Wow, it has been too long since I updated this story, I'm so sorry guys! It's the same old excuse of life got busy mixed with a ton of writer's block. But I think I have worked past that and I hope my life is as calm as it appears to be as I really want to start writing again. So here is hoping I'll bring you guys another chapter soon!**


	5. Chapter 4

**I saw the Last Jedi today and I just needed to vent my feels! I won't say anything, don't want to spoil it for anyone and I ask if you want to talk to me about it, please message me and don't write it in the reviews so everyone can remain as spoiler free as possible! Also, I know this is short, but I felt this needed to be done in between the last chapter and the next, so stay with me please!**

Luke softly walked through the corridors of the Temple, his mind still on what had happened to Petna, when he was interrupted by a call from Ahsoka. She told him about what had happened to his mother and that they were on their way back now. Once they ended the call, Luke was left with a feeling of gratefulness that another tragedy hadn't happened so closely on the other one. Suddenly, from nearby a voice said "Troubled you are young Skywalker. Tell me what's on your mind, help it will."

Looking at the owner of the voice, Luke said "Master Yoda, its just… I can't get over what happened to Petna, we were all there, we could have stopped it, but we failed her." "Failed, you did not. The will of the Force it was." Yoda encouraged him. "Yes, but why did the Force will it? Why did it allow Darth Maul to kill her?" Yoda smiled and said "I have missed this, these chats all the time used to have did we." Luke felt a twinge of regret at not having spent time with the aging Master, there was so much to be learned from him, he who was so attuned to the Force.

"Say that to hurt you, I did not young one." Yoda said gently before continuing, "As for your questions, answer them I cannot. But remember, the Force isn't just one sided. The Force is in everything, everything it is and thus it is both light and dark." Then with an odd chuckle like sound and a soft pat on Luke's hand, Yoda headed off, leaving Luke with more to think about.

 **Guest- don't worry I have plans for Sabine and Ezra ;)**


	6. Chapter 5

**OMG look a chapter! Sorry for the long wait guys and I can't promise that the next chapter will be out soon, I just got hit with a sudden wave of inspiration and had to sit down to write this :D**

Leia couldn't believe her ears. Reports from the Inferno Squad had been streaming in regularly about what had been going on down at Endor. Turning to the figure in the hologram, she asked "Are you serious Commander Versio? He killed Petna Broxi like that?" "Yes ma'am, and he abandoned most of the men with him." Replied Iden Versio, "My squad made it out fine, but most… most were captured or left for dead." Leia frowned. Her Master's sanity had been questionable five years ago when he found that darn scroll. Now he was becoming less and less stable, doing irrational things, making poor decisions. Much as she hated to, she would have to have a talk with her Master. "Thank you Commander." She said, already lost in thought. "Of course Darth Keeran." Iden said as a way of signing off.

Even with the many lightyears between them, she could read the expression on Iden Versio's face. She did not understand why the one she and her father had sworn their allegiance to years ago was acting the way he was. If Darth Maul wasn't careful, they would lost the Inferno Squad, for the moment her men's lives were put in jeopardy Leia had no doubt that Iden would pull them out of the Dark Forces, which wouldn't do her Master's cause any good as they were one of the few well trained groups they had left, one of the few who were really loyal to her Master. Loyalty could only be stretched so far before it broke.

Leia sighed and decided that once she returned from her mission, she would have a talk with Maul, now she needed to forget about that and focus. Though why she really felt the need to bother with this she did not know. She had been on so many of these missions that had no real point to them in the past few months, that she felt bored with them. Maul was probably just trying to keep her busy, to keep her from stopping to think, he must have sensed her growing confusion whenever she wasn't around him. Why were things, the paths she must take, so clear when he was around but so fuzzy the moment she left his side?

She sighed again and thought "Yeah, that must be why he sends me on these missions, to strengthen my resolve, lest I grow bored and forget our purpose." Suddenly she heard a sound from an alley way. She hadn't realized she had left her ship, so lost in thought she had been. Good things Maul wasn't around, he would have berated her for that. "Look, tell Jabba his money is coming, I swear, I'm just waiting for the funds to clear from last shipment." Came a voice that sounded slightly familiar, though one she had not heard in years.

Leia made her way cautiously to the edge of the alley, peering around it to see what was going on within it. A man with brown hair had his back against the wall, his hands in the air, looking at several, what had to be, bounty hunters. "You can wait for them to clear in his dungeon." Said one with green skin and a yellow flight suit (or at least that's how it looked to Leia). The man sighed and said cockily, "You do know what happened to the last guy who tried to bring me in to Jabba, right?" "Don't think your gonna talk your way out of this one Solo." Said another, though she didn't catch which one said it as her eyes widened in surprise.

Double checking, she knew now why the man looked familiar, it was Han Solo! She hadn't seen him since… before Maul took her. Pulling her lightsaber out, she pulled her hood over her face as she entered the alley and said "I'm sorry gentlemen, but he needs to come with me." At the last word, she ignited her red blade, causing Han to give an oh shoot look and the bounty hunters to share a couple of glances before slowly backing off towards the other side of the alley. Once there they scattered in different directions, their fear filtering through the Force as she turned off her blade.

"Same old Han, always getting yourself in trouble aren't you." She said as she removed her hood. Han's eyes widened as he asked "Leia? Is that you?" "Actually, its Darth Keeran now, but you can call me Leia, I don't really like that other name." "So you're still with Maul?" Han asked as they both started walking out of the alley. She nodded and said "Yes, but I'm worried, he has been acting so odd recently." She looked at him with regret in her face as she said "I probably shouldn't have said that, you probably still fly around the Jedi right?"

"Well if saying yes is going to get me killed, than no." Han replied, earning a chuckle from Leia who responded, "I won't kill you Han, I never could, you are a dear friend to me still." Han gave her a funny look before saying "Well than, yes I still transport around a few of them, but usually just your brother or Obi-Wan, I don't take just anyone after all." She smiled and asked "How is Luke?" "You would know if you hadn't severed the bond Leia, that really hurt him, you left him alone." Han said. Leia turned towards him angrily as she said "He wasn't alone, he has our parents and Obi-Wan and all the rest."

"You know what I mean, you had to have felt it too. I never had a twin or anything, but I can imagine from the way that Luke moped around that you were a constant presence, one that he felt lost without, which means you probably did too." Han said, not put off at all by her tone. Leia sighed and said "Your right Han, but I had no other choice. I did it to protect him, to protect myself." Han could see she wanted to cry and instantly felt bad for being the cause of it.

"Hey, listen, I'm sorry I brought it up. So are you going to drag me back to your ship and lock me up?" he asked. This brought a smile to her face as she said "Tempting, but no. For one, my Master will never know I ran into you, unless those bounty hunters spread the word and even so they can't say for sure it was me. For another, I don't trust my Master or his judgment at the moment. He is keeping things from me and acting oddly and I have no idea what he is going to be doing from one minute to the next." Han looked at her with concern as he asked "Will you be safe around him?"

She gave a bitter laugh before replying, "As safe as I've ever been around him. Honestly, whenever I'm around him things seem clear, my path, my destiny, but the moment he is gone its like this cloud of confusion settles in, like I can almost see through it, but there is always something in the way. I just wish I could figure out what to do about it. That's something else I probably shouldn't be telling you." "Hey, I promise I won't going running to Maul with the info." Leia smiled and said "You're a good friend Han, I've missed you." Han smiled back as he replied "I've missed you too. So what brings you to this rock?"

Leia rolled her eyes and said "Another one of my Master's pointless missions. He's looking for something, what I don't know, but he always has me off looking for clues or whatever to it. I never find anything and its just a waste of my time." Han gave a nervous chuckle as he said "You're not going to kill me because you've said to much are you?" Leia gave him a sly smile as she said "Maybe." With a wink to show she wasn't serious as she continued walking, leaving him to catch up, for he had stopped when she had started answering him in case he needed to run.

Now he hurried up to her and asked "Want some company?" "I won't say no. Its been rather lonely since I made my friend Maketh leave me for her safety." They fell into an easy silence and once again Leia found nothing at the location Maul sent her to. She walked with Han back to his ship and said "It was good seeing you again Han. Be sure to settle things with Jabba so we can do this again sometime." "Yes ma'am." He said with a smart salute before he entered the Falcon. Chewie waved to Leia from the top of the ramp as it started to close, a wave which she returned to him. She headed in the direction of where she had left her ship, feeling lighter and freer than she had in years. Also, was it her imagination, or had Had grown more handsome with time?

 **Okay, in case you don't know who the Inferno Squad or Iden Versio is, they are from Star Wars Battlefront II. My dad was playing it last night and while I've played with him a few times, I had yet to play or see the story mode until then. I knew I needed to add them to this story and we will be seeing more of them, trust me. Is there anyone else you would like to see? I can't guarantee they will make it in, but you never know :D**


	7. Chapter 6

**I honestly had a lot of fun with this chapter :D Anyways, sorry for the long time with no updates, just had so much trouble getting passed my writer's block and it honestly felt like nobody really cared about this story much anymore anyways (considering this is probably the first time where I haven't updated a story that I have yet to receive any messages or anything asking, begging or demanding for a new update it doesn't seem like I was to far off with that feeling) that it was hard to find motivation to sit my butt down and write for this story. But then than Rebels reached its end and all the feels have been going through me and have started reigniting the fire to write. I can't promise I will stay on top of this, life is crazy hectic right now and showing no signs of slowing down, but know I have a lot of things with this story I can't wait to share with you!**

Ezra entered his old Master's chamber and waited for the door to close behind him before he asked "You wanted to see me Master?" "Yes, thanks for coming Ezra, have a seat." Caleb said. "Is this about a mission?" Ezra questioned. "No, this is something personal, something I need for you to keep secret." Caleb said, pacing in front of his former student. "Is it about Hera?" Ezra asked. At the quick look of surprise his Master darted at him, Ezra chuckled a bit and said "I have eyes Master, plus I have known you pretty much all my life and I know you pretty well. So what are you going to do about it?"

Caleb sighed and said "I don't know Ezra. A part of me wants to leave here and be with her, the other part feels like I would be abandoning the Jedi in their time of need. "Why not do both? You know, like Anakin and Padmé." "I thought about it. The Council would be furious if they found out." Caleb said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why don't you go by another name? Hera already calls you Kanan all the time anyways and I don't think anyone, at least who would report you to the Council, knows that you used that name before. Why not become Kanan Jarrus when you are with here and stay Caleb Dume when you are with the Jedi?" Ezra replied.

"You think it could work?" asked Caleb in a hopeful tone, "I mean since Anakin came forward with having done it, I worry that the Council and others would be keeping an eye out for anyone else who may be doing so." "Oh it can work all right." Ezra said with such certainty that Caleb stared long and hard at him before asking "You know someone else who is doing so?" "I won't say who, but yes and they have been doing it for years without anyone the wiser. Though if you want, I can ask them to talk about it to you."

Caleb hesitated before nodding and saying "Please do. I have to be heading out now, but if they are available tonight, have them meet me here." "Will do Master." Ezra said as they both exited Caleb's room. Obi-Wan had arrived back from Mandalore the night before so Ezra went in search of him, finding him out in the gardens meditating. "Master, I have something to ask of you." He said as he settled in next to Obi-Wan. "What is it Ezra?" Obi-Wan replied without opening his eyes.

"Someone else I know wants to do what you are doing with Satine, but they don't know if its possible. They are struggling with the same feelings of not wanting to abandon the Order at its time of need and wanting to be with the one they love. I told them I would ask you, without saying who you were, if you mind talking to them about it and they said to bring you to their quarters tonight if you were available and willing to do so." Ezra said watching as Obi-Wan slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at him while he was talking.

When he had finished Obi-Wan said with a smile "I see you are good at protecting their identity in this matter as you have been while protecting mine. I would be happy to talk to them. I'll meet you here at dusk so you can take me to them." "Thank you Master."

XXX

As the sun was setting, Ezra met Obi-Wan in the same spot in the gardens as he had found him earlier and proceeded to lead him to Caleb's room. Ezra knocked on the door and said "Master we are here." noting the look of surprise on Obi-Wan's face at who Ezra had led him to as he did so. "Come in." came Caleb's voice from beyond the door. As the door slid open Caleb turned towards them and his surprised look matched Obi-Wan's as he said "You are the one Ezra told me about?!"

As the door slid closed, Obi-Wan nodded and said "I am. For the past five years I have been married to Satine Kryze, Duchess of Mandalore, and we have a daughter named Sundi." "And you are able to juggle all of that? Being a Jedi, husband and father?" Caleb questioned, "And how are you married to someone so well-known without the rest of the Council finding out?" "I admit it's not always easy, but it is definitely worth it. As for how the Council hasn't found out, I use another name when I am there and, counting you, there are only twelve people who know who and what I really am, all of whom are either relatives or like relatives of Satine and I or happened to be there at the right time, though also well trusted."

"Who knows, if I may ask. It might be easier to have at least some people I can be open with." Caleb replied. Obi-Wan nodded and said "I felt the same. Well there's Bo-Katan Kryze, Sabine Kryze, Korkie Kryza, Ursa Wren, Alrich Wren, Anakin, Padmé, Luke, Ezra and the one who married us, Hera Syndulla." Caleb's eyes practically bugged out of his head as he said "Hera married you five years ago and she never told me!?" "Ah, so that is who you love." Obi-Wan said, causing Caleb to stare at him with his mouth hanging. Obi-Wan laughed and explained "Anakin would react the same way when I mentioned Padmé doing something before he told us they were married and I probably do the same thing if Satine or Sundi is mentioned."

Caleb rubbed the back of his neck again and said "Yeah, she is amazing and I have had feelings for her ever since I first met her. At first I tried to ignore them, after all they aren't the Jedi way, but lately… It's just gotten harder and harder to ignore the feelings and its caused me to question things about the Jedi and our ways." He blushed at the last part, as if he had said to much, worried that Obi-Wan wouldn't quite be that understanding, but was relieved when Obi-Wan nodded and said "I know what you mean. I don't think love is an emotion that was meant to be blocked off, nor connections a thing that we were supposed to steer away from."

Ezra, whom had been silent since they had entered the room spoke up and said "How can we properly help someone or understand them if we have never felt all the emotions that they have." The older Jedi agreed with him and then Obi-Wan said "This is enough talk for tonight, we can't risk being overheard talking this way in the temple. If you ever need to talk about what you are going to do with your situation with Hera, I and those who I mentioned will always have a listening ear ready for you. And of course Satine too." He ended with a chuckle and then a good night before exiting Caleb's quarters.

After he had left, Ezra turned to his former Master and asked "So when are you going to talk to Hera about this?" "Right now, if she is here on Coruscant. I can't let another day pass without her knowing how I feel, I've put it off for too long." "Mind if I tag along?" Ezra asked. Caleb paused to look at his former student, thinking how hard it was to believe that Ezra was already twenty-seven year old. He put his hand on Ezra's shoulder and said "Wouldn't have it any other way."

The two rushed out of the temple, heading to the spaceport hoping that they would soon catch sight of the Ghost. Ezra was the first to spot it and shouted out "She's here!" Caleb's heart pounded harder as he walked aboard it after Ezra, would Hera return his feelings? Or would she turn away from him? He almost let out a groan before he suddenly caught sight of her and it stuck in his throat. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, Twi'lek or otherwise.

He cleared his throat and said "Hello Hera." Hera gasped and turned around, hand to her heart as she said "Oh Kanan, Ezra, I didn't hear you come aboard." "Sorry for scaring you." Caleb said as Ezra slinked around the corner, out of sight but not out of hearing range. Sabine greeted him but he shushed her and motioned for her to listen and they were quickly joined by Zeb and Chopper. Caleb cleared his throat again and started tripping over his words so he wasn't making any sense.

They heard Hera tell him to take a breath, though they didn't see that she had stopped his ramblings with a finger to his lips. A finger that he kissed, causing her eyes to widen as he said "I'm sorry, I want to tell you everything, how you make me feel, my hopes for the future, a future with you in it. But they keep getting stuck in my throat and the ones that do make it out aren't making much sense I know. So I hope that shows you what is in my heart, what I am hoping for. Well that and this."

With that, he kissed her this time on the lips, a kiss that surprised Hera more than the one on her finger, but one she quickly started to return. When they finally stopped so they could breathe for a minute, she asked softly, "But what about the Jedi? Won't you get in trouble for this?" Kanan chuckled as he gently rubbed a finger down one of her lekku, earning a soft groan from her before replying, "I think you know of another Jedi who was willing to take a chance for the one he loved. I want to do that too."

Hera's eyes widened in surprise, "Who told you about him?" "He did, though Ezra acted as our go between until we both said we were fine with the other one knowing who we were. Anyways, what do you say Hera? When I am with you I will always be Kanan Jarrus, even when we aren't on missions. Caleb Dume will be who I am when I am with the Jedi and anyone who might run into me when I'm with the Jedi." "I say, what took you so long?" Hera replied with a smirk. Kanan let out a laugh and kissed her once more, and with this the eavesdroppers walked away to give them some privacy.

Sabine, once they were out of earshot squealed and said "Finally! They finally got together. I was beginning to wonder if they ever would." "I know what you mean, they always were making googly eyes at the other." Zeb said, laughing a bit at all the memories that came to mind. "You're telling me! Kanan was practically moping every time we left the Ghost." Ezra said with a smile. The three of them and Chopper continued to discuss the lovebirds until Caleb came to tell Ezra it was time to head back to the Temple for the night.

Hera had promised him that she would stick around until he got sent out on another mission so they could spend some time together without having to worry about getting caught. As they walked back towards the Temple, Caleb practically floated, his mind on the time he had spent with Hera so far and the dreams he had for their future, so while he was quiet the whole way back, it gave Ezra time to think some more. What if the Jedi were wrong about connections? Was it possible to change the way things had been done since the founding of the Order so long ago? Or were those who decided to give love and other emotions forbidden by the Jedi a chance doomed to either have to sneak around or give up the job of protecting the galaxy they loved?

 **Ah Hera and Kanan, my OTP 3 Anyways, from now on whenever Caleb/Kanan is with Hera I will write his name as Kanan (thank goodness, practically every time during this story where I have written his name I have to change it over to Caleb XD) to signify that's who he is when he is with Hera and all the rest he will still be Caleb. I honestly had not planned this chapter at all, but feels from Rebels had me doing this so yay for you guys XD Let me know what you think and what your predictions are for not only what we just covered, but for this story in its entirety! I want to see how close you can get to what I have planned ;) When this story is completely done, I might do a bonus content chapter so you can see all the crazy notes I have kept for this trilogy of stories XD**


	8. Chapter 7

Leia could sense her Master was back on board the ship as she docked her smaller craft. Time for a confrontation she really did want to do, but needed to be done if they were going to keep up the moral of their forces. Leia followed the presence of Maul until she found him standing on the bridge. Walking up to him she asked "Master, may I have a moment?" Maul turned to her and acted as if she hadn't said anything to him as he said "Ah, Darth Keeran, how was your journey, any luck?"

Leia sighed in exasperation before replying "No Master, now may I have a moment of your time?" Darth Maul turned away looking displeased, as he muttered to himself "So not there either, still so many possibilities…" Leia cut into her Master's thoughts as she practically shouted "Maul, we need to talk!" That got her Master's attention, though not in the way she wanted. He back handed her before she felt it coming as he screamed "I am your Master and I deserve to be treated with the respect of one!"

The members of the Dark Forces in the room either made a hasty retreat from the room or made themselves as small and as inconspicuous as possible, trying not to draw attention to themselves lest the wrath of Maul fall on them. Darth Keeran didn't even reach out to hold her stinging cheek, she knew it would anger her Master even more if she did so and she needed him to calm down a bit so she could confront him about abandoning troops.

Spitting out a bit of blood that came from a cut that she had gotten by accidentally biting her cheek, Darth Keeran said "Apologies Master, but I really must speak with you in private." This seemed to appease Maul and so he agreed to leave the bridge and go into one of the small conference type rooms they had to discuss whatever Darth Keeran wanted to discuss.

Once secluded in one of these rooms, Darth Keeran said "Master, the moral of the troops is low and it will get even lower if we abandon them in battle, some might even forsake our goal if we do so." Maul frowned and said "Your talking about the men I left behind after killing the Jedi aren't you?" Darth Keeran shook her head and said "Not just them Master, everyone feels like we are fighting a losing battle, that we came out of hiding a bit too soon for the numbers and strength of our forces. If we leave a battle without protecting them, without fighting for them, we are just making a bad situation worse. We need to boost our low moral before it becomes our undoing."

Maul was quiet for several long moments as he consider Darth Keeran's words. Finally he said softly "You are right Darth Keeran, we need to lead our men carefully, they do not have the same passion and drive as us." The way he worded it worried Darth Keeran a bit, but she was not prepared for what he did next. He swiftly turned and barged out of the room, his anger practically flowing off of him as Darth Keeran rushed after him.

He forced pushed anyone who got in his way as he once again entered the bridge, Darth Keeran hot on his heels. "Master, what are you doing?" she questioned but Darth Maul did not hear her over the rage fueling his every move. He pointed at the biggest ship in their fleet and said "It is full of traitors, shoot it down before it takes us down!" "No!" shouted Darth Keeran, but no one heard her over the barrage of weaponry that was sent flying towards the ship. It's occupants had no time to react before the ship exploded.

Maul pointed at another and said "That one too!" Darth Keeran watched in horror as he took out their whole fleet. The few remaining ships had banded together to try to survive, but most were too afraid to fire back, lest they survive only to die at Maul's hand for attacking his ship. Soon the space around the craft was just full of ship pieces and bodies as the last ship exploded. Darth Keeran was kneeling on the floor, shaking with fear of her Master and what he had just done as he knelt down beside her, "Now we have eliminated any possible threat to us and our goal. The men on this ship are fiercely loyal and will continue to be so."

Darth Keeran looked around at the men as Darth Maul exited the bridge, as they realized what they had just done. The realization that they had just exterminated many men who were actually loyal to Maul and not traitors left them stunned and she could sense that this was something they would never get over doing. Oh yes the men on this ship may be loyal, but it would only be the fear of Maul that kept them such. The moment something proved that it may even possibly be stronger than her Master or herself, these men would have no problem turning on them.

Darth Keeran stumbled to her feet and wandered the hallways aimlessly. Maul had already left on another venture to who knows where, taking the Inquisitors with him, and she could sense his presence slowly slip away. Never had Leia ever felt so lost even with her Master around, never would she have thought him capable of doing what he did. As she passed the hanger she saw the majority of the Inferno Squad entering The Corvus. She paused to watch them do so, knowing that they would not be returned.

The Inferno Squad's commander, Iden, turned to look at Leia with a look of determination to show she was willing to fight her even if she died so long as it meant her men made it off safely. Leia simply nodded at her then continued on her way. She would stop no one who wanted to leave the ship, to leave the Dark Forces. She radioed the bridge to say that all ships that left were on missions and were not to be shot down. Even if she had requested them to be shot down, she doubted the men on the bridge could have pulled themselves together in order to do so.

She heard The Corvus leave, the first of many that day, and she did nothing. She wasn't alone in the watching, there was one watching her. Gideon Hask had not left with his team, feeling they were in the wrong and he was stunned to see Darth Keeran do nothing to stop them. So he watched her, overhearing the orders to let all ships leave freely. He would report what he overheard and saw to Darth Maul on his return, hoping that this would cement him a place high in the ranks of the remaining Dark Forces.

 **So sorry for not updating in a while. Honestly I have been discouraged on the lack of people reading and liking this story. It usually doesn't bother me but I've put so much thought and quite a bit of planning into this story (like the ending I've already had planned since the first story, lol) that I guess I'm just taking it a bit harder than usual and have felt like what's the use of updating if no one is reading. But I am trying to kick the blues away, as you can see. I have a busy summer coming up, so I can't promise I will be actively posting, but I will try to get up chapters a bit more often than I have been.**

 **Anyways, this chapter was supposed to be Rowan's, but I couldn't help but do Leia as I wanted to show her and Maul interacting a bit sooner than her next chapter. You may have also noticed that half the time I wrote her as Leia and half as Darth Keeran. I wanted to show how the whole when I'm near him my destiny is clear thing is effecting her. Like when she was speaking as Darth Keeran, that was when she felt more like Darth Keeran and vice versa.**

 **How come she reacted to Maul's killing the forces the way she did if she is more Darth Keeran in those sections, you are probably wondering. She may feel more like her destiny is clearer, but she isn't totally insane like Maul. She has her background of being a Jedi where the troops are important and would never be treated that way too, which is why she even confronted Maul about his behavior in the first place. Just as being conflicted doesn't stop her from doing bad things, it doesn't stop her from doing good. She is not a grey Jedi, but she also isn't pure evil either.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the short chapter, seems Rowan's always are though.**

Rowan went to visit his siblings, needing to see them after everything that had happened lately. Hearing about Petna, one not to much older than him who had always been there with a kind word and a smile, had set him to thinking about how precious time was with those he cared for, his friends and family both. Naare was off giving the details of the mission with Ahsoka, so he was alone with his thoughts on the walk over.

When he walked in his siblings surrounded him in a big hug, before Kordi stepped back and studied his face. After a moment she asked "What's wrong Rowan?" So Rowan told his siblings about what had happened with Petna and what his thoughts on the way over had been. When he was finished Kordi gave him another hug while Zander said "Don't worry little brother, we should be around for a good long while, but if we aren't we will always be with you."

Kordi nodded her agreement and Rowan smiled at them as Roger called out to let them know lunch was ready. He spent a few, blissful hours in the company of his siblings before returning to his Master at the temple.

 **So I've been thinking about this a lot and I want your input on it (if anyone is even reading this/feels like it). I've been really struggling with this story a lot, the length in between chapters might have given you an indication of this. It's not so much the story, I'm still in love with it and have everything planned out, heck I've even figured a way to add in some of the characters from Solo we were introduced to. But nobodies commented or really followed this story in ages and I wonder if I am wasting my time writing this, which I don't have a lot of time to do these days.**

 **So here are three options. One, I take a break from posting anything new until I have completed this story (kind of like how my first two sections were always on time because of this) and then start posting again. Two, I can just give a brief synopsis of what was going to happen as the next chapter for those who were curious/so any future readers wouldn't be left hanging. Three, I just drop the story entirely with only the possibility of coming back to it later if I get enough people going what the heck happened.**


	10. Chapter 9

**This chapter was basically brought to you by jojobinks01, they gave me the encouragement I needed to not only start working on this one, but on a bunch of other things. Thanks!**

Luke was lying in his bed at the Temple when he felt something he hadn't felt in years. Sitting up, he almost sobbed as the connection to his twin started to weave itself back together. Even through time and space, it was almost like she was right beside him, and he could tell she was frightened. That bothered him so much since he had no way to communicate with her, but just being able to know she was alive was comforting.

XXX

The next day he was sent on a mission to Tatooine, they thought that some of the Dark Forces had been seen in that area, though it could just be some inner squabble of the Hutt clan. Whatever the reason he was just glad he had been selected to go and that it was simply a scouting mission. He hadn't been to see his grandmother and step-grandfather in years.

Upon arriving, he decided to stop in and see the first so he gently set his Starfighter down next to their house. Across the way was the house of his Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen. They had a daughter called Naomi, who was just a year younger than him. The five of them came rushing out of their homes, giving him hugs as he climbed out to greet them.

"I see another house is in the process of being made, so are you finally settling down Naomi?" Luke teased his cousin, whom blushed and said "As a matter of fact, yes. Biggs asked me to marry him the last time he was home, said he only had one more year left and then he would be free to come back and marry me." "Wow, he didn't tell me this the last time I saw him! Congratulations!"

"So what brings you out here Luke?" Cliegg asked, as he put his arm over his grandson's shoulder. "The war I'm afraid, though personally I think the reports we are getting are simply the Hutt clan having a problem within, if you know what I mean." Everyone nodded at that and they took their family reunion inside. Luke had arrived late in the day and decided that for the night he would focus on family, the scouting could wait until tomorrow. Shmi and Beru made a big family dinner, consisting of all of Luke's favorite foods and they all visited late into the night.

XXX

The next morning, Luke borrowed his uncle's Landspeeder and, accompanied by Naomi who insisted on going along, they headed out into the day. Naomi helped keep an eye out for sandpeople, whom had been causing a lot of trouble as of late, while Luke concentrated on getting them through the landscape safely. Soon they arrived close to the sites where the reports came from. Luke stopped the Landspeeder and hopped out. As Naomi moved to follow him, Luke motioned for her to stay put. "Jawas might take apart the Landspeeder if we leave it alone, plus I could be wrong about the reports and we may need to make a fast exit. Slip over and be ready to take off in a hurry."

"You never did let me join in the fun when you came to visit. You always went off with Biggs but you guys would never let me join." She muttered. Luke simply flashed her a smile, before heading off in the direction he needed to go. After making his way up a short dune, he looked out across the wasteland in front of him. For now, it was quiet, but he had been sure to arrive shortly before any sightings were listed as having been seen.

That was another thing that made him think it had something to do with the Hutts, the reports always happened to have listed the sightings as having taken place around the same time. That made it seem to Luke like Jabba was probably marking off his territory, whether from another relative or someone he felt was encroaching on him. Still, someone had to check to be sure and he got to visit his family, so that made everything right.

Soon he saw something on the horizon, just a blob that was blurred by the heat rising from the sand, but I quickly drew closer. Just as he thought, the tiny ship was full of those worked for Jabba… wait a minute… another smaller ship followed close behind, obviously in pursuit of the other craft. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the insignia of the Dark Forces. "Well this scouting mission just turned into a rescue mission." He muttered as he hurried down the slope.

Naomi saw him coming and by his pace knew something was wrong. "What is it?" she shouted as he drew closer. "The Dark Forces." Luke puffed as he threw himself into the Landspeeder, "And they're after some of Jabbas men, we have to help them!" "What?! Help Jabba?!" she exclaimed, as she moved to do what her cousin said. "I know it seems weird, but better Jabba is here then the Dark Forces, especially if they were to discover that you are all related to us." Naomi couldn't deny his words and thus resolved to help her cousin, no matter what.

Therefore, she took off after the two fleeing ships, even though every instinct of hers was screaming at her to just go home. Unfortunately as they drew closer, the Dark Forces overtook Jabba's small craft. In seconds, they obliterated it, parts of both creatures and craft littering the sand where it once was. Even worse they noticed Naomi and Luke. "Go!' Luke shouted at his cousin, as she cut the craft in a tight turn, racing for cover. "Go where? We can't go home, they'll follow us!" "I'll take care of them, just keep us in front of them!"

Luke hopped on the back of the speeder, keeping his balance with the help of the Force. He ignited his blade as the Dark Force members got close enough to attack, deflecting their shots back at them. Suddenly he shouted at Naomi, "Cut the engine, now!" Naomi didn't question, just did as Luke said, watching the Dark Force craft fly pass them… and smash right against Jabba's head ship seconds later. The ship was one he used for space travel and while it was dented by the smaller vessel hitting it, its hull was not breached. It did however turn to make an emergency landing.

"Go to it Naomi, then wait for me once more in the Landspeeder." Luke told his cousin. "I hope you know what you are getting us into." She answered him, but did as he asked. Luke hurried towards the open gangway, giving his cousin a reassuring look before heading in. "I wish to speak to Jabba." He said to Jabba's right hand man, Bib Fortuna, who nodded and took him to the room where the Hutt sat.

Through a translator, the Hutt asked who Luke was and what he wanted. "I'm Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker. I was sent here to discover if reports of the Dark Forces being here are true. I saw them chasing one of your crafts and tried to help them, but did not reach them in time. They chased us and were the ones that ran into your ship. Tell me Jabba, are there more or more coming?"

Jabba affirmed that there were more coming, those in the smaller vessel were acting as a diversion while he and most of those who worked for him made their escape to Coruscant, in the hopes of asking for help. "I will send for others at once. You need to return to your palace and act like everything is going okay, we need to lull them into a false sense of security. Are you willing to help?" Jabba agreed to the Luke's plan and had preparations made to return to his home as Luke exited the craft and rejoined his cousin.

"What's up?" she asked. "Trouble. I need to get back to your home and send a message to the Council." He replied. She nodded and zipped across the sands as quickly as possible towards home.

XXX

Anakin and Ahsoka entered the Council room just as Luke ended his call to them. "Good news Anakin." Plo Koon said, "You're going home." "Home?" Anakin questioned. "Yes to Tatooine. The Dark Forces have attacked Jabba the Hutt and you have been assigned to go. Ahsoka snickered at the look on Anakin's face at the thought of all that sand. While Luke may have made visits with Obi-Wan over the years to Tatooine, anytime Anakin wanted to see his mother she flew out to him, he had sworn he was never going back to that planet. Looks like she was finally going to see where Skyguy grew up.

 **Okay, so I know that I basically used the Prequels as a backstory to this one, but I really wanted to see some interaction between Shmi, Cliegg, Beru, Owen and Luke in this chapter. What can I say inspiration took me and I checked every possible word I could think of to see if I had mentioned any of them in my story yet and I hadn't so I was like sweet lets go :D And I gave Beru and Owen their own kid XD Probably one of my favorite OCs so far :D**


	11. Chapter 10

**If you are going this isn't a new chapter for me, check the previous chapter because at some point I replaced it with this one, whoops!**

Leia smiled as the bond mended itself, feeling Luke's comforting presence once more. How she would hide the bond when Maul returned she knew not, nor did she care at the moment, she just needed to feel safe for a few precious moments of time.

XXX

Her Master contacted her a few days later. "The Republic has learned of our operation on Tatooine, join me there." He ended the transmission without leaving her anytime to say anything in return, so she ordered the remaining crew, those who were too afraid of Maul to even think of leaving, to make haste to reach there in a timely fashion. Even the crew could see that Darth Keeran was bothered by what Maul had done and that left all of them on edge as they made their way through space to join the lunatic that was their leader.

XXX

As they came out of hyperspace, Maul's craft rushed to join them and, upon his landing in the hanger, he ordered Darth Keeran to be sent to him. Before Leia could do so, Gideon Husk walked up to him and said "Lord Maul, Darth Keeran allowed many of our few remaining troops to leave without even trying to stop them after you left." "Of course I did." Came Leia's voice from the door, causing Gideon Husk to turn quickly towards it as she continued, "If I had taken them out what would that have accomplished? Darth Maul had already made his point quite clear and if I forced them to stay all that would have accomplished is them fighting half-heartedly if that, more than likely they would have straight up surrendered the next time we went into battle."

"You could have killed them." Husk said, starting to feel a bit nervous about being amongst the two Sith alone. "Again, that would have accomplished nothing except for maybe losing us the few that remain loyal to the cause." Leia said. "Enough, leave us, Darth Keeran made the right choice." Maul said, tired of the bickering and the interruption. Husk made a hasty retreat, lest he earn Maul's wrath. "Allow me to introduce my best field agent." Maul said, once the irritating man had left, "This is Qi'ra."

Leia nodded her head at the woman who was roughly her age, if not perhaps a bit older. "She thinks she has finally located the object and location we have been searching for these five, long years." Maul said as she did so, causing her to start. "Really?" Darth Keeran asked, intrigued. "Yes Darth Keeran, it's located on Tatooine, but it is in Jabba's palace. I had almost successfully, along with my team, gotten the Hutts to vacate, when they were rescued by a Jedi. We intercepted a call to the Jedi Temple, asking for help, however we were not able to stop it from being sent in time."

Before Darth Keeran could say anything, Maul spoke, saying "Quite alright, the important thing is we have finally found it. Taking care of that fool Jabba will be a cinch, but it is a pity that the Jedi will be coming. Still, if we act quickly enough we may be able to get there first and get the Hutt's out of our way while we get to the location Qi'ra has scouted out." "Why don't we have our forces, led by Qi'ra and her team, act as a distraction while we slip into the palace?" Darth Keeran questioned.

"An excellent idea, my apprentice. How many are in your team Qi'ra?" "Just three others, the Becketts and Rio Durant." She replied. "You each shall take command of a section of the forces, get Val Beckett up here to control our sky forces and the rest of you handle the land." Maul said, starting to leave the room. "I'm not sure Tobias will take kindly from having his wife taken so far away from his protective circle." Qi'ra slightly objected, the news of what had happened on Maul's ship had yet to reach her ear, otherwise she may have exercised better caution.

Maul made a move to choke her, but Keeran stopped him, using the Force to do so, as she said "I'm sure Qi'ra here did not mean to question you Maul, but let me handle this." Maul frowned, but nodded before leaving the room. Leia sighed, shaking her head as the presence of her master moved off. Turning to Qi'ra she said "You're lucky I was here. Maul ordered the destruction of our entire fleet. The people who Husk mentioned leaving did so because of this, so he would have no qualms about killing you at this point. He has gone completely mad in his desire to find this Sith location."

"My thanks then, Darth Keeran, for not allowing that to happen." "You're welcome, now listen carefully, we don't have much time and there is much you need to know and pass on. If we are successful, you aren't going to want to be anywhere on the ground down there and if we aren't, then this will be Maul's last stand. Do me a favor and save everyone you can. Put on a show for Maul long enough for us to enter the palace, but then get your forces back to the ship and either leave or surrender to the Republic. Maul will need not know the details if he succeeds on how you came to give up, but if he doesn't then that will be a few less lives that are lost."

Qi'ra looked at Leia, puzzled as she said "Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for all you are trying to do in saving us, but why? It doesn't seem like something a Sith would do, at least if Maul is any indication." Leia looked away before looking back, Qi'ra noticing that each eye was a different color, one her original and one the Sith yellow. "I don't know. Whenever I'm with Maul, his ways make sense, but the moment he leaves… its all a muddle, I can't think or focus."

Qi'ra put her hand on Leia's arm as she said "We'll get you out of here Leia, come with us, don't go in there with Maul." Leia laughed bitterly, before she answered "If only I could. But in order for it to work, he needs both of us there. I need to go in order to keep him from noticing what is going on with you guys." Qi'ra suddenly hugged her, causing Leia to gasp and tear to slip from one of her eyes as she reveled in the contact that she hadn't experience much since joining Maul and definitely since Maketh had left.

"Thank you, for giving us this chance. I will send help to you, somehow." Qi'ra announced, before letting go and exiting the room, rushing to inform her team of what was going to happen. Leia stood still as she took a steadying breath, it wouldn't do to rejoin Maul looking ready to cry. Soon, one way or another, this would all be over.

 **Wow, obviously when I started this story back in 2016 this scene wasn't in my mind, since we knew nothing about what would happen in Solo, but I really am happy I got to do this one. I think it really fit Qi'ra to be working under Maul in my story, for reasons (just in case you haven't watched the film, I won't say).**

 **Now, just in case it was forgotten, the reason I flip flop between calling Leia by Leia or Darth Keeran is because of how when Maul is around, its almost like she becomes Keeran, but the moment he is gone (the distance of which is getting less and less as he loses his grip on reality) she starts trying to be her true self once again, even if she doesn't really know it. The Dark Side is clouding her mind at all times, mainly via Maul, but every once in a while she breaks free of it and does something decidedly not Sith, hence why I write her the way I do.**

 **Also, once again I am sorry for how flip floppy I have been on updating this one, but you will be happy to know that I have the next chapter ready as well! So next week you shall have a new one for sure to enjoy! I have been struggling with inspiration for this story, but oddly enough I got it while watching those Lego shorts with Roger and I saw Moxie. Somehow that gave me the energy and inspiration for this and the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Because I've gotten ahead on this story once again, I'm going to be uploading on Monday and Friday for the next few weeks :D**

Rowan was practicing some forms in the Temple's gardens when Naare joined him. "Rowan, Becky has been pardoned and needs some place to stay. Normally we would send her to the Skywalker's but what with Padmé just becoming Chancellor, we don't really want to dump her on them. Do you think your family would be willing to take her in?"

"I'm sure they would. Are we going to take her there now?" Rowan asked excitedly. "Well technically you aren't supposed to go there, but if they do see you leaving with me, I'll tell them I'm having you wait a block away from their home. They won't bother checking, not with everything that is going on." "What else is happening Master?" Rowan questioned as they walked to where Becky was waiting for them.

"Well as soon as we drop Becky off we are heading straight for the space port. Luke Skywalker has reported that the Dark Forces are on Tatooine and according to a large number of defectors, he is down to just one ships worth of an army, having had his own forces destroy the others. They are being held, like Becky was until they can either be pardoned or suitable punishments decided for them. Anyways, we are hoping to end this once and for all so all available Jedi are being sent there, minus a few that will be held back in case it turns out to be a trick or if someone else needs us during that time. But you and I are some of the ones who will be heading out."

"Yippee!" Rowan shouted, he was eager to get a run at Maul for what he did to Petna. The trio quickly made their way to the Freemaker house where, upon knocking, they were all invited warmly in. Naare informed Kordi and Zander of why Becky was with them and Kordi immediately said "Of course she can stay here." "Thank you Freemakers." Becky said with a soft smile. "We hate to bring an unexpected guest and just leave, but Rowan and I must make haste to the spaceport." Naare said. "Oh where are you going this time?"

"To Tatooine. We might actually be beating the Dark Forces for good this time!" Rowan exclaimed. "Really?! That's great little brother!" Zander said. "Be careful Rowan, Naare. Something tells me if that you might be beating them for good that there is a high chance of Maul being there. I know what happened to Petna, and though I don't know her, I was sad to hear about her death. I would be devastated if anything happened to either of you, after all your my brother Rowan and you feel like the sister I never had Naare."

"Thank you for your concern, Kordi." Naare replied warmly, "While I can't promise that nothing will happen to either of us, it makes me feel good that you have included me in your family." A group hug was had by all, Becky and Roger included, before with final goodbyes and warnings to be careful, the two Jedi left. Kordi waited until they were out of sight before falling against Zander's shoulder and softly crying, fear for her brother's life overwhelming her.

XXX

Han Solo happened to be on Coruscant and since he was well known by the Jedi, Naare asked him to take them to Tatooine. He readily agreed and prepared the Falcon for take-off. A few more Jedi, Obi-Wan and Yoda included, joined them onboard before the ship lifted into the air, heading off to Tatooine and, hopefully, the end of this long nightmare of a war.

 **As I mentioned in the last chapter, I got totally inspired by those Lego shorts with Roger, especially the one with Moxie in it, so I knew I had to get Becky over to the Freemakers and thus, this chapter came to be! Super excited to be in the final stages of this story I started in 2016. I have a sort of an idea how to continue it with the new movies, but I need to know a bit more of the characters, so don't be expecting another sequel to this one just yet, but know I do want to come back to this someday.**

 **Guest – Thanks for the suggestion, I'll consider it.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Apologies on the late upload, had some technical difficulties on this end :)**

Caleb and Ezra had been given some time off, the day after Caleb had told Hera his feelings so they headed to Ghost to visit everyone once again. Once there, Kanan went to Hera and said "Let's get married." She gasped and said "So soon?" "I don't know about you, love, but I have loved you for as long as I have known you and I don't want to waste a minute of whatever time we have left together. Hera, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Hera nodded, tears in her eyes as she said "Of course I will Kanan." They shared a kiss as everyone looked on, happy for the couple as they could be. As it ended, Hera said "Let's have Satine do the honors, her position allows her to do so and it would make her so happy to be able to return me the favor I did for her and Obi-Wan." "Agreed, let's head to Mandalore immediately, Ezra and I have been given some time off."

XXX

Once on Mandalore, they headed directly to the palace where Satine was waiting for them, though why they wanted to see her she didn't know. Sundi played quietly in the corner, though she babbled a little when she saw the familiar faces enter the room. "What can I do for you?" Hera put her arm through Kanan's and said "You could marry us." Satine's eyes widened before she quickly hugged Hera as she said "Of course I will! Come let's get on with things."

XXX

They spent a few happy days on Mandalore after the wedding, before Kanan and Ezra received word from the Council. "We need you to head to Tatooine immediately, the Dark Forces are there and all that remains is a small batch of them. Almost all available Jedi are going. Do you have a way to get there?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, our ride is still here." Kanan replied. Obi-Wan looked around before saying quietly, "I hear congratulations are in order, wish I could have been there to witness it." "Wish you could have been too, and thank you. We'll see you on Tatooine." "Right." Obi-Wan said, before his image faded away. As Hera prepped the Ghost, she said softly, "Promise me you'll be careful." "Of course I will, I have a reason that is much more personal to come back alive this time." He said softly, nuzzling her neck as he finished. "I'm glad to hear it." She smirked, before allowing the Ghost to lift into the air, the Duchess waving goodbye to them as they did so.

XXX

Coming out of hyperspace they were amazed to see how many Republic ships were already there. As troops and Jedi were shuttled down to the surface, several ships started making their way around the planet to where the single Dark Force ship waited. One of these allowed the Ghost to land in it and so it was that Ezra and Kanan, as they waited for a transport for them and their troops, heard the call come over. "This is Val Beckett of the Dark Forces, we surrender, repeat we surrender. Do not shoot. All land and aerial fighters of the Dark Forces surrender, please do not shoot."

"Do you think it's a trap Master?" asked Ezra. "We'll soon find out, we will head over there ourselves. If they are surrendering, then we'll let our capable troops handle it, but if not, well, its best we be there. Besides, we don't know if Leia or Maul is there." Kanan said as a transport landed and they made their way to it, being joined by Yoda.

"Go with you, I will. Handle things, if all is well I must." The small Jedi said. "Of course Master, happy to have you." Caleb said as they entered the ship together. Moments later, they exited the transport into the sole surviving ship of the Dark Forces. Val Beckett stepped forward and said, "Thank you for not firing. My commander, Qi'ra, is waiting on the ground to surrender to your allies there. I have made sure that all troops knew to lay down their weapons and that you would be coming to take us."

As she said this, a shot fired out, grazing Caleb as he had allowed himself to be distracted. He hissed and grabbed his right arm, as other Dark Force members grabbed the one who did, calling him an idiot as they did so. Val frowned and said, "Husk, I should have known to personally check that you laid down your weapon. What are you trying to do, get us all killed?" "You lot have no honor and no loyalty. Better to go down fighting for what we believe in rather than taking the coward's way out." He spat out.

"I never did believe in this war, I only did what I had to survive." Said Val. Turning back to the Jedi, she added "A thousand pardons, Master Jedi, I should have known better than to trust Husk would obey my command." "It's alright, there are always those who don't know when its time to stop fighting." Caleb replied. Val called for a bacta patch to be brought to him before turning to Yoda and saying, "We surrender the ship and our lives to you."

Yoda nodded, then turned to Caleb and Ezra, the former of which was applying the hastily brought bacta patch to the graze wound. "Go, need your help they do down there." The two Jedi nodded before heading to the smallest of the transports to head down to the planet's surface. Ezra wondered, just what was in store for them down there.

 **This one is a bit short I know, but I wanted to tie up a few loose ends with Caleb/Kanan and Ezra before heading into this next part. Hopefully you enjoyed it anyways.**


	14. Chapter 13

Luke watched as a steady stream of Republic forces made their way to the surface of Tatooine. He could hardly believe the news that was brought to him, that this was the last of the Dark Forces they were looking at fighting. If they could take out Maul, and if need be Leia though that he doubted was necessary, here and now, they could end this for good. Once the majority of the leaders were down, using the Lars home as a staging point much to the excitement of his cousin Naomi (especially when Biggs showed up), they started planning their attack. When they were nearly done, suddenly their communications sparked to life with "This is Val Beckett of the Dark Forces, we surrender, repeat we surrender. Do not shoot. All land and aerial fighters of the Dark Forces surrender, please do not shoot."

Everyone looked around in amazement and Luke looked out over the sandy landscape to see a girl, followed by many others, waving a white flag. As she reached them and said "I am Qi'ra, commander of this group, and we surrender." Anakin, who had just exited a ship, burst out with, "Seriously? I come all the way back to this horribly, sandy place just for you to surrender?!" "Ani, if I had known that this is what it would take to get you to come see me, I would have arranged to have the Dark Forces come here years ago." Shmi Skywalker broke in.

Anakin blushed and muttered "Sorry mom." As Luke asked "Where are Maul and Leia?" "They entered the Hutts palace along with the Inquisitors. Darth Keeran told us to get out of here, off this planet even. There is some Sith device that she fears will wreak havoc on this planet if Maul succeeds." Luke's face became grim as he turned to Biggs and said "Start the evacuation process, those closest to the Hutts palace first just in case. Us Jedi will see to Maul and Leia. Wedge, you start getting these prisoners transferred up to the Dark Forces ship, better to keep them all in one place."

Turning back to Qi'ra he asked "Is there anything more you can tell me about this device, anything that we might need to know that could help in stopping in it?" She shook her head and said "If there is any of that kind of knowledge about it, I was not entrusted with it. Since this was Darth Keeran's plan to save us, I don't think she knows of any or its possible that the only way to stop what is to happen is to get there before they do whatever they are going to do with it."

"Why doesn't she just stop going along with this plan?" Anakin asked anxiously, "I mean obviously she doesn't approve of this." "She told me that she feels confused when she is around Maul, plus she was also hoping to buy us some time by seeming to go along with it. I don't know if she will end up going through with it or not, Maul's hold on her seems to be very strong when she is with him." Luke nodded and said "Thank you, Qi'ra. Now, go with the rest of the prisoners." She nodded and headed off to do just that, joining the members of her team that were on the surfaces.

Han walked over and said "Listen, I overheard what was being said, and I want to help." "You can by getting people off planet." Naare said, whom had been standing quietly in the background while the exchange was going on. "No, I mean I want to help with Leia. She's my friend Luke." "And she is my sister, but she also has been with a Sith for the last twelve years, I don't know what she is capable of, nor can I ensure your safety." Luke responded.

"She won't hurt me. Please, let me go with you." Han said, looking Luke straight in the eye. After a minute or so, Luke nodded and said "Okay, you can come, but stay in back of us as much as possible. We are dealing with four dark side users, so just try to keep one of us between you and them." "I will." Han answered solemnly, before turning to Chewie and instructing him to help in the evacuation process. The Wookiee wasn't pleased with this, but went to do as Han requested. By this time, Caleb and Ezra had landed and joined the group. "Right, Obi-Wan, dad, Ahsoka, Caleb, Ezra, Rowan, Naare and Mara, let's go take care of this threat to the galaxy once and for all."

XXX

Slowly Darth Keeran and Maul headed into the depths of the palace, taking the twist and turns that the Force guided them to take. An unease settled over Darth Keeran's heart, but she kept that and her thoughts to herself. The closer they got to the item, the more and more her Master seemed to be losing his grip on reality. What would he do once they reached it?

XXX

The nine Jedi and Han entered the Palace, the Hutts passing them on their way out and to a nearby ship. Luke followed the bond of his sister, though it felt murky and not quite as strong as when the contact was reestablished. He worried that his sister was losing her way in the Dark Side once more. Would they be able to reach them before they got to the item? Would he get his sister back? Or would their bond once more be severed, this time permanently?

XXX

"There!" Shouted Maul, startling Darth Keeran out of her thoughts to follow his shaking, pointing finger. "There is what I have been searching for all these years! To think such power is finally within our grasp! Come, Apprentice, we must hurry before we are interrupted. Hastily Maul made his way to a floating sphere, Darth Keeran cautiously following as she asked "How did such an item end up in the Hutt's palace here on Tatooine?"

Maul growled, "That foolish Hutt clan, they made their palace out of an old Sith Temple, one that had so many passages they never fully explored them. You must have noticed the lack of any signs of the past several rooms and hall having been lived in? They never come here." By this time he had reached the device and, turning towards her, said "Hurry, my Apprentice, we must do this together."

Darth Keeran made the last few steps cautiously, but quickly to appease her Master. "Now we must grab ahold of it and begin the chat I have been telling you to memorize." "But Master, it was all nonsense, it didn't make sense." Maul's eyes glowed dangerously as he asked "You didn't fail to learn it did you?" "No, I did, but…" "Then let's get started." Maul interrupted, "Whether or not you understand it, I don't have time to explain it to you now. This will enact my revenge on not only Kenobi, but all whoever did me wrong."

He pulled her towards the device, practically using the Force to make her grab it as he did so and they began the chant.

XXX

Luke and the others stumbled as the ground suddenly shook. Luke looked at the others in alarm as he shouted "Hurry!" They ran through the last few rooms, stumbling into the one containing Maul, Leia and the Inquisitors shortly. "Stop!" Anakin shouted. Leia seemed to jump at the sound of his voice, but neither she nor Maul stopped as the Inquisitors moved in on the nine Jedi. They attacked and whatever old Sith energy was lying in the room or was coming from the chant seemed to give them extra strength, for it took everything the Jedi had to stay one swing ahead of them, even with practically a complete five to one odds on both of them.

Han, seeing that the Jedi couldn't do anything to stop the process that was happening, took a deep breath and edge his way towards Maul and Leia. "Leia, its me Han. You need to stop this Leia, otherwise people you love and care for are going to get hurt." He said, hoping that would reach her. However, she kept on chanting as if she didn't hear him, and once again the Earth shook, knocking him temporarily off his feet.

He staggered to them quick as he could and tried again, inching even closer as he said "Come on Leia, I know you can fight this. You know this is wrong, many will be hurt. Your friends and family in this room will probably die. I know you wouldn't want this, you wouldn't kill any of us if you could keep it from happening. Come back to us Leia, come back to light, don't let Maul have this last and final victory over you. Leia hesitated a moment in her chant, but a glare from Maul started her going once more.

Han sighed and said "Please Leia, don't do this to us, to me. You are more then a friend to me if I am honest with myself. You mean the world to me, have since the moment I first met you." He put his hand on her arm, drawing her attention off of Maul and the artifact and unto him, "I love you Leia." He whispered. A tear slipped from her eye as she answered, "I know." Then turning back to Maul she glared at him and then started attacking the artifact with everything she had.

Before Maul could stop her, having only the time to scream "No!" she pulled out her lightsaber and split it in two. The shockwave threw everyone in the room to the ground, those who had been using the Dark Side being knocked out, while those using the Light Side and Han were merely stunned. As soon as he could concentrate, Han scooted over to Leia, Luke joining him shortly. "It's over." Mumbled Rowan from his prone position on the ground.

Luke looked at Han and said "She's okay, but something feels different. Our twin bond is still there, but it's missing something. It's missing the strength the Force lent to it." "Why do you think that is?" asked Ezra, to which Ahsoka responded "When she destroyed that artifact it must have messed with her connection to the Force. It may come back, or it may be gone permanently." Anakin joined Han and Luke by Leia's side. As he looked at her, he asked "What do you think the Council is going to do about this?"

"It's hard to say. She did a lot of damage to a lot of different people, but then look at all the lives she saved or attempted to save." Naare said, "I'm sure that those who decide her fate will take that into consideration. "What are we going to do with these three?" Caleb asked. "They too, will stand trial before the Council. Their sentence will definitely not be as lenient as Leia's." Obi-Wan answered. "Let's get everyone out of here and call off that evacuation." Mara stated, the others moving to do as she said.

XXX

Leia awoke several days later to find her friends and family surrounding her. "We were so worried for you Leia." Padmé said as a tear slid down her cheek. "Mom." Leia croaked, reaching for her. As her mother moved to hug her, she shushed her and told her, "You need to rest Hunny, but know that you are finally home and finally safe." Leia cried softly, not caring who was in the room. Maketh gave her a quick hug, glad to see the one she consider her friend and savior had finally pulled through.

Everyone had been waiting for her to awake with baited breath, Rig Nema's assurances that she was fine had fallen on ears that were wanting to believe, but doubted more and more after so many days slipped by that the good doctor would ever prove to be right. Luke was the last one to leave, the others being shooed out by Rig Nema, but she allowed the twins this moment alone. "Luke, did Han say what I thought he said?" she asked softly so as not to hurt her throat.

Luke chuckled and said "If you mean did he say he loved you, he did Leia. He is waiting in the hall for his turn for a moment alone with you now, but I selfishly asked if I might go before him." Leia chuckled softly before she sobered and said "I'm sorry." "I know, don't worry about it. It's all in the past. When you are feeling better, if you feel up to it, we can talk more about it, but for now just rest. There is so much to tell you and catch you up on, like Mom is Chancellor now."

Leia's eyes bugged out, before she said "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, she's always been good at politics." Luke laughed and said "Yeah she has. I'm going to go so that Han can have a moment before Nema makes us leave for the night, but I just wanted to say I love you sis, and I have missed you, missed this." Tears filled Leia's eyes as she whispered "Me too." Luke carefully hugged her before exiting the door, which opened again shortly with Han filling it.

"Hey." He said after a moment of standing there awkwardly. "Hey, you can come in you know." She said softly. "Right." He stuttered, before moving closer. After another minute of standing there silently, he said "Look, Leia, about what I said in that room, you know if you don't return the feelings or whatever its fine and I'll be okay if you don't and…" he stopped as she raised a finger to his lips and said "Hush, its okay, I feel the same way too."

With that he gently lifted her up into a sitting position and gave her a kiss which she returned. After a moment however, she broke contact with a sigh as she said "This isn't fair to you Han, my future is uncertain." "I know that, and I don't care. We can face it together." She smiled a shaky smile, before asking "Why doesn't anyone seem to want to tell me that I have lost my connection to the Force? It's not like I wouldn't notice it."

Han was taken aback by the quick change in subject, but quickly recovered and answered, "They aren't sure if it's permanent or not at this moment Leia, they think it effected all dark side users in that room, for Maul and those two Inquisitors have also lost their connection to the Force, but they aren't taking any chances with them and have them locked up with inhibitors in case it comes back."

"How come I'm not locked up with them?" she questioned. "Your mom pulled some strings as well as quite a few of us fighting for you." Han smiled. Leia was about to ask another question, when Rig Nema opened the door and said "That's enough for today, Leia needs her rest. However, feel free to come back tomorrow." Han sighed and said "Ok, see you tomorrow." He gave her another kiss, which caused Leia to blush as Rig Nema looked on, before leaving. Rig Nema smiled and said with a wink "You know, it wouldn't be the worst thing if you two got together." Leaving a very confused, yet happy, Leia to ponder over everything that had taken place.

 **Phew, that is finally done. I had always planned on Han being the one who would talk her down (though the I love you and I know part was completely spontaneous and I loved having the roles reversed on it). I also always had this artifact planned and Leia losing her Force abilities (though at the time when I am writing this, the situation is not decided on being permanent or not) however I never planned for it to be on Tatooine nor did I plan for it to be in Jabba's palace, that was totally spur of the moment. It was going to be on some unknown planet, or at least I never really thought about it.**

 **And I got to included one of my all-time favorite characters, Rig Nema, in this. Seriously, this character needs some more love!**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this installment, I look forward to bringing more to you soon!**


	15. Chapter 14

A few weeks later

Leia walked the halls of Bail Organa's home carefully, her body still recovering from being so close to the Epicenter of the shockwave. The Force had yet to return to her, and she was beginning to doubt it ever would, but she was coming to peace with that. If it never returned, in her opinion, it was a small price to pay for all the horrible things she had done. Sighing, she remember the first moment she had gotten alone with Obi-Wan, shortly before she left.

She had expressed her sorrow at the loss of his hand and he had assured her that it was alright and he had forgiven her. There was something different about him, more than just ordinary passage of time, he seemed happier than he had been even back when she was still with the Order. She wondered at its cause.

Breha's voice cut through her thoughts, "I see you're up and about again. You know Nema told you to take it easy." While it was an admonishment, there was also a note of humor in her voice. Leia sighed and said "I knew the Council would take some time to decide my fate, but I honestly never thought it would take this long."

"Don't worry." Breha said in a comforting voice, putting a gentle hand on Leia's arm, "You are not the only one they are having to consider, Padmé did ask for their help in figuring out what to do with all members of the Dark Force, especially those who surrendered in the last half of it." "I know, its just… even if they do decide to be lenient with me, I can't go back to being a Jedi, not if the Force doesn't come back to me. What am I going to do?"

"You are smart and resourceful, like your mother. You'll find something to do." Breha said with a smile. "I need to find some way to atone for what I've done, to make up for all the wrongs I have done." Leia said, almost as if she hadn't heard Breha. The older woman frowned and used her hand that was still on the younger one's arm to bring her attention to her. Once she had Leia facing her she said "What happened is not your fault, Maul was behind it all."

"I could have fought harder, I could have let him kill me on the numerous training lessons where he tried." Leia said, tears in her eyes. "Don't say that!" Breha said with more force than she meant to, but perhaps that was necessary, "If it hadn't been you there, who knows how the story would have ended. He would have found another Apprentice, one who would have followed him to the end and where would we be then?"

Leia sighed and said "You're right but…" Bail walked up to them just then. He noticed that he had stopped some conversation, one which by Breha's face was important, but this was too. Turning to Leia, he said "You're mom has requested you to return home. The Council has decided and is waiting for you to pass judgment." Leia sighed once more and turned to Breha, though she was speaking to both of them as she said "Thank you so much for letting me stay here these past few weeks."

"You are very welcome Leia. It has been fun for me, having you here made me think what it would have been like if we had been blessed with a daughter like you." Breha said, ending her statement with a hug for the younger woman. She didn't need to be a Jedi to tell that Leia was frightened about what the future held, but she was impressed with how well she remained looking outwardly calm. This girl would go far, if she would only give herself half a chance.

XXX

Leia stood before the Council. It's faces had changed somewhat in the years since she had been gone, but some were still the same. Obviously Yoda was still a big part of it and the others seated around the room were all familiar to her in some way. There was Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kit Fisto, Shaak Ti, Plo Koon, Depa Billaba, Luminara Unduli, Aayla Secura, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Caleb Dume, Saesee Tiin and Stass Allie. Some had been around since the Clone Wars, others having gained their seats only in recent years. Some gave her encouraging smiles, others gave her a wary glance that had nothing to do with her father this time.

"Leia, we do find you responsible for some of the things that happened during your time as Darth Keeran. While we understand that Maul had a hold on you, some of us feel you could have done more, put up more of a fight." Aayla started. "The crimes we do hold you responsible for are the deaths of those that you caused when Maul was not around, which by your count was no less than fifty and probably more." Ki-Adi-Mundi broke in.

"However, we do admit that you did much to save many lives, probably adding up to more than what you took." Stass Allie said with a smile. "We are grateful for those that you were able to spare, though do not think that you will escape all punishment." Saesee Tin spoke up. "Therefore we do strip you of your Jedi status and, should the Force ever return, you will not be allowed back in and be forced to wear an Inhibitor bracelet at all times." Shaak Ti finished.

Leia nodded her understanding and said "You have been more than fair with me Masters. Are you sure you do not wish to do anything more?" Her question shocked the Council somewhat and, while there was more to her punishment, they were unsure how to continue. They looked to Yoda who calmly asked "More you think is required?"

"I've hurt so many, took away more than just the lives of those that I did kill but I took them away from those who knew and loved them. Honestly, I wouldn't protest if you required my own life in their place." Leia said softly. Kit Fisto stood up from his seat and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We all have done things in this war that we wished we would never have to, took lives of those who simply were trying to survive. Though we always did what we could to just wound, it wasn't always possible when the fear of Maul proved stronger than pain." He said.

"Kit is right, Leia." Luminara Unduli said from her seat, "You have been away from us for twelve years, yet you think your count was roughly fifty. That shows me that you were doing your best in a bad situation. Do not hold onto so much blame, who is to say that we would be able to have held back as much as you obviously did." Obi-Wan grieved quietly in his seat for the daughter of his friend, one who was like a brother to him and Leia was therefore like a niece.

Caleb looked to Yoda before saying, "Wait outside for a minute Leia, please." Leia nodded and left the room, finding Luke and her parents waiting for her. True to his words, Anakin had stepped down from being a Jedi the moment they had returned from Tatooine. Now he wished he had held onto it a bit longer and could insist on being in on the Council meeting, but not even Padmé with her title of Chancellor could, or would, do that.

Once Leia had left the Council, Caleb said "I think she is punishing herself more than enough, in fact I would keep an eye on her for the time being so that she doesn't do anything drastic to herself. Maybe we should require her to check in with Nema every week or so?" "I agree with you Caleb." Said Depa Billaba, "Let's drop the rest of her punishment, at least for now." Everyone agreed and Leia was called back in. "The only thing else we require of you, Leia, is you must check in with Nema, not just for your physical health, but your mental until Nema tells us it is no longer necessary, agreed?" "Agreed, thank you Masters. Once again, I am sorry for everything." Leia replied, before quietly turning and leaving the room.

XXX

It was another week before Leia felt like much company, at which time Padmé hosted a small party of their close friends. It was held on Naboo and so those with secret families could attend with them. Leia was made privy to Obi-Wan and Caleb's secret, something she left grateful to be entrusted with. Lux Bonteri was in attendance and it pleased her to see her Master hanging out with him and treating him like more than a friend. She was sure that there would soon be a third family to be kept secret. The Bridgers, Freemakers and Becky had also been invited, and though she never knew them, except for Becky whom she had met in passing, they were all friendly towards her. Naare joked with Mara about something Leia didn't quite hear, but it caused the red head to blush.

Jyn and Cassian hadn't been able to make it, but Maketh was there and Leia was grateful to be reunited with her friend. And of course her grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin and her fiancé were there. But, besides Luke and her parents, the most important guest to her was Han. And he had yet to show up. Turning to her mother, an hour into the party she sighed and said "He isn't coming is he?" "If he doesn't he has a good reason I'm sure. Either that or he will wish he did, once I get my hands on him." The last part was said with a wink and earned the giggle it had set out to make.

Just then, she saw his face in the small crowd and she gasped slightly as she said "There he is!" Padmé left her side to give her some time alone with the man she loved. Han reached her, apologizing as he said "Apparently Maul didn't care for those of us who often shuttled the Jedi. Even though he's dead, people seem to think that his bounty on our heads is still good. I ran into a bounty hunter who wanted to have me for the bounty."

"I'm glad you could make it then, is there anything left of the bounty hunter?" she asked mischievously, to which Han chuckled and replied "Yeah, but he's going to be tied up for a while." Then he bent down and gave Leia a kiss. "I'm glad the Council didn't put you away forever, I don't know what I would do without you in my life." Most of the time during her time at Alderaan, Han had been there and the two had become inseparable. He had to make a quick supply run for the Jedi and had hoped to be back before Leia had been called in for her sentencing but had been unable to make it, nor had they seen each other since then.

Leia sighed and said "It's not fair for me to be so happy with you, when friends and family of mine who are still in the order can't do so, at least not openly. Something needs to change." "So why don't you do something about it? I mean you may not be a Jedi anymore, but that doesn't stop you from having a voice." Han said, causing her to look up at him with a stunned expression before she quietly said "You're right. I am going to do something about it."

Her family watched the conversation and, while unable to hear what had been going on, they saw the change come over Leia, the purpose for something filling her with excitement. Whatever it was, they knew it was going to bring changes to their lives, but the question was what would that change be?

XXX

Several weeks later

"You ready for this?" Luke asked his twin, who glanced over at him nervously. "Ready, but I just hope that everyone who helped me with this won't live to regret it." Leia said. "They won't. They agree with you, that it's time for a change." Luke reassured her. Leia would have said something more, but at that moment they were summoned into the Council chamber.

For once, in way to many years, the whole Council was together in person. Leia took a deep breath and caught the reassuring looks of Obi-Wan and Caleb from the corner of her eye. "Something to discuss with us you have, young Skywalker?" Yoda said in addressing her. Oh for the Force so she could sense what was going on, but Luke would do his best to convey what the others were feeling, so she took a deep breath and said, "Yes Master, I do."

"It has come to my attention that for too long have we worked on the bases that a connection is a bad thing." Holding up her hand, she said "Now hear me out, I know some of you want to question my use of we along with what right do I have to talk of such things, but hear me out." Luke could sense some of the Masters yearning to do just what she said, but for now they held their peace. A good sign, they wouldn't have made it this far if Mace was still around.

"Now, there have been some connections that were encouraged, twin bonds being the highest among those, which was always odd to me as otherwise you would always try to separate families, like Master Depa and her sister, even though both were Jedi much like Luke and I were both Jedi. Tiplar and her sister never turned to the Dark Side, nor considered it, no matter that familia bond. Yes, I did, but so have many Jedi who were kept from their families, like Dooku."

"Just think of all those recruits we miss out on because their families don't want to lose contact with them. Right now, more than ever, we need those younglings to strengthen our numbers once more so we can help the galaxy out wherever there is a need without hesitation. My father and those others who have left to have families, they could still be here, they could have been a big help in the time of war we just went through against the Dark Forces." Leia continued.

"I could bring you witnesses to attest that bonds with family have not created a problem, but rather provided emotional support when we were too busy to give it to them. Though I hesitate to do so, only because I do not want to get them in trouble should you decide to stay close minded in this subject." Leia finished. The Council was silent for a moment, before Ki-Adi-Mundi asked "How can we be sure you really have a witness? Everyone knows such connections are forbidden after all."

Before Leia could answer, a voice said "Perhaps, that is the problem itself. After all Anakin almost believed Palpatine because he felt he could not turn to us, imagine how much sooner we could have stopped him and the whole Clone Wars if we had only known." Depa was the owner of the voice, and she earned a nod from the Cerean Jedi before he responded "Be that as it may, I would like to hear one of these witnesses account on things."

Once again, before Leia could open her mouth, a voice said "Alright, I will give you one." Gasp were heard from several Council members as they realized the person speaking was Obi-Wan. "I deeply apologize Masters, but I have been married for the past few years and I even have a daughter. In fact you sent someone to check and see if she could become a Jedi, but Satine and I decided against it." There was silence for a moment before Kit Fisto said "Oh my gosh, Sundi is your daughter!"

Leia could tell some did not approve of Obi-Wan's secrecy and that he would be getting lectured on it soon. "Well, if Obi-Wan is going to come out and say it, I guess I can too. I recently married Hera Syndulla." Caleb broke in. Depa almost fell out of her chair as she shouted "And I wasn't invited!?" She too, earned glares for her remark. Naare, who had slipped in when Luke alerted her in the Force spoke up and said "I have been letting Rowan visit his siblings since day one. I know, you all are thinking my Master is rolling over in his grave right now, but I honestly don't care. It's what he and his family needed."

"And Obi-Wan and Ahsoka used to let us visit our parents." Luke spoke up from his sister's side, as Ezra popped in and said "And my name is Ezra Bridger. I found out a few years ago that the Bridgers are my parents and I have been spending time with them ever since." "Oh yeah, and I visited my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousin quite often." Luke added. "Not to mention it was my friendship, dare I say love, for Han that brought me back to the Light, along with the love of my family." Leia finished. The Council was quite for a good minute, before Yoda said "Discuss this we must, Obi-Wan and Caleb stay you can, unless not want to you do."

The two Masters chose to stay in the room, knowing that they would probably be deeply questioned if they did, while the others filed out. Leia sighed once the doors closed behind them and she asked "How do you think that went?" "As well as it could have. If they don't change their minds for this, then they will never change them.

XXX

Hours passed before the small group, which had grown to those they had mentioned (along with Hera, Satine and Sundi, who couldn't stay away knowing what this might bring for their families), were summoned back into the room. Obi-Wan and Caleb kept all emotion off of their faces and from leaking into the Force, so no one knew what to expect, nor if the news would be good or bad. Master Yoda stood and said "Our decisions is..."

 **Wow, this chapter kept going! I didn't realize how much I left undone (and I feel like I'm still forgetting something), for instance that I had totally forgotten about my Ahsoka/Lux side story, nor that Lux hadn't even been mentioned since the first story! That is a travesty, because I am such a Ahsoka/Lux fan (would love some suggestions for fanfics with not necessarily strictly focusing on their relationship, but with some of that in there, if you know of any please tell me!)!**

 **Well anyways I hope you enjoyed this story and are looking forward to when I come back with the next one, which should come out (if I do it) after Episode 9. Until then, see you!**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Haha just kidding, don't worry, you won't have to wait long until you see what happens with the Council's decision. Seriously, that line has been around since my first story (literally copy pasted it from the note I've kept going with all of my ideas for this story) and I'm so glad to finally get to write it!**

 **Ohh and the Council, I had to backtrack through my other two stories today and see who I had as part of the Council confirmed which ended up being ten, then went through the list of those who had been on the Council during the Clone Wars and picked out two since it listed twelve as being the number on the Council everywhere I looked, if I am wrong please let me know for future stories.**

 **I have also decided that the Tholothian's are one of, if not my absolute, favorite species of Star Wars. I say this because I love Stass Allie, Adi Gallia and Katooni a lot. And of course, I love me some Rig Nema so I had to include her, seriously when that new season of Clone Wars comes out, I really hope they do some more with her, or at the very least mention her so I can fan girl XD Anyways if you read all that, sorry for my rambling I'm just so stoked about this story and now I'm kind of bummed its coming to an end, but its for the best and I can move onto new things this way so yay :D**


	16. Epilogue

**One year later**

Leia gave a sigh, the construction was moving along smoothly, but to Leia it felt like it would never end, not on time anyways. Suddenly she felt her twin's hands over her eyes and she smiled as she heard the words "Guess who?" She chuckled and said "You really need to find a better way to disguise your hands Luke, how have you been?" He plopped down next to her and answered, "Good, how about you?" "Fine, but I do wonder if this house will ever be built."

Luke chuckled at his twin's impatience, but he understood it. After all, any day now she was due to give birth. Shortly after their meeting with the Council, Leia had married Han. This was of course, partially based on the Council's decision. While most had been open to relationships, they had decided to respect those who didn't. The only solution they could see was to split the Jedi into two groups. Neither bared the other any ill will, but this way those who felt relationships were important could still be Jedi and those who didn't wouldn't have to deal with families always being about.

Those who stayed behind were Shaak Ti, Aayla Secura, Ki-Adi-Mundi and Saesee Tiin, though the first two only stayed long enough to help set things up for those who would take over the many empty seats and they had followed the first group within months. Leia hadn't kept track of who had been added over there to the Council, but she did over on their new home, which was being set up on a uninhabited planet called Edjei, in order for there to be plenty of room to grow as families moved to stay there.

Already a new town was taking shape, with market places and a familiar diner which had moved when its best customers did. Yoda was stepping down from the Council, ready to sit around and meditate he said. He had named Depa his successor. With three empty spots, Anakin was once again offered one which he gladly accepted. Though young, Luke and Ezra had been offered one as well which were also accepted with a bit of pride and lots of joy.

Obi-Wan and Anakin both were hardly ever on planet, though Anakin planned to be there once Padmé decided she was done being Chancellor, or once the galaxy decided that. Obi-Wan was unsure if he ever would be able to join them on Edjei, though he was building a house to possibly retire there to in the future, as Satine was needed by her people. Sundi, however, came every month to stay for a week and learn the ways of the Force, her other birthright no longer needing to be hidden she was taught everything.

The Mandalorians were a bit annoyed at first for the secrecy, but in time they came to accept it as necessary, especially since it had made their Duchess so happy. Though not Force users, nor related to anyone who was, Jyn and Cassian had settled on the planet, as well as others they had met on their adventures like Galen, Kento and Mallie Marek along with Galen's soon to be wife Juno Eclipse and Rahm Kota, who of course brought his pupil Kyle Katarn and his wife Jan.

Some other non-Jedi who had joined them were Maketh, Iden and Del Meeko and quite a few droids. There were of course children born to some of their friends, the most recent of which was Jacen Jarrus, a very cute combo of mother and father. Caleb had been going strictly by Kanan since he had started his new life, while Obi-Wan had decided to drop Ben in favor of his real name. Sabine had moved over, to be closer to her new boyfriend, Ezra, and his parents were thrilled to put her up in their home.

The Freemakers insisted that Naare stay with them and the newly married Becky was another happy addition to that home. A memorial to Petna Broxi had been erected by her friends as a way to have her with them still. Regret for the loss of Petna, along with a bit of personal remorse, filled Leia's heart before Luke nudged his twin gently and said "None of that now, it's not good for the baby." She sighed and said, "You're right. I hope Han is on his way home, I would hate for him to miss this." Luke chuckled and said "Well if doesn't he'll have mom to answer for since she took off time to be here."

Leia smiled at her twin, before changing the subject with "How are things with Mara?" He blushed and said "Going well, I suppose. Hey you better be careful, now that Ahsoka and Lux are married, he might try to put you out of a job as official Senator for the people of Edjei." Leia laughed at the title, one her own mom had pushed for stating that while it was true the Jedi never had a senator or need for one, Edjei wasn't home to just the Jedi, but many who were there to make life run smoothly so it was only fair they had a voice in the Senate.

While many had been hesitant to allow Leia, a former Jedi and Sith to take the part, they eventually warmed up to her and found she was her mother's daughter when it came to politics. There were some who said she may even one day become Chancellor herself! But that would only happen if her ability to use the Force remained gone. After all, people could say she swayed this person or another to do this or that and then nothing would ever get done.

A part of her wanted her old life back, to be able to defend the galaxy in a way that few could, but another side of her loved the politics and the sharpening of her wit even more. Suddenly Leia gasped and put a hand to her side. "Are you okay?" her twin asked with concern. "I think the baby is coming, will you get mom and then we'll see if its time to go see Nema." Luke nodded before rushing out, willing Han to hurry up.

XXX

Hours later, Leia looked down at her new son. Han had arrived some time ago, plenty of time to get the customary blame for this process and also to see his son come into the world. The rest of her family and some friends gathered around to see him, much to the disapproval of Nema who felt there were too many people in the room, but Leia wouldn't have it any other way. Leia had two wonderful surprises, the first being of course that her son joined them today, but the other was that during the delivery she had felt a sliver of the Force return to her.

It was nothing like she used to have, about all it did was let her feel and be felt by Force users, but it was enough to fill her with joy! It was also enough under the radar that she could keep doing her senator duties, which Lux would be handling until she was ready to take it back over. Padmé said she might even be able to get them a second seat so that the both of them could be there, especially since the numbers for Edjei were growing quite fast. "What are you going to call him?" Luke asked.

Leia smiled and said "We decided on Ben, as a reminder to us about how much things have changed for the better." Everyone smiled and nodded, wondering as they looked on at the little infant what the future held for him.

 **And thus ends not only the Galaxy on Edge story, but my little trilogy as well. Fun fact, according to this sheet I found the birth of Ben is just four years overdue in this story if we go by the cannon line XD oh well, at least if I come back Rey can still be the same age as she is, just Ben gets effected :D Wasn't planning on doing both this and the last chapter so much from Leia's point of view, but I think it flowed nicely, don't you?**

 **It was always my plan for Leia when she came back to have her get into politics, however originally I was going to have her doing it under Bail, but that's because this Epilogue wasn't even supposed to happen! Yep, back when I first started to plan the story, it was supposed to end with that fun line that I ended the last chapter on. Which that section was actually supposed to take place three years after Leia was returned from Maul's control, during she was going to be staying on Alderaan the whole time and thus made perfect sense, but then I was like that would make her, Luke and Ezra 30 years old and I want things to start hoping a bit faster then that.**

 **So at some point, I don't remember when, I changed it to this version, with the Epilogue and the decision of the Council shown (ya'll were supposed to decide for yourself too, because I also wasn't planning on possibly doing one for the new ones until the itch to do so just started coming at me so much!). Anything you think I didn't wrap up? Let me know and I'll put it in my notes for things to be sure to add when I start up the next story. And if I don't do the next story, I'll try to add a little something here if I feel the need to fill in the blanks is way too strong for any one item. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this story and series!**

 **Total Word Count: 23,253**


End file.
